Brownie Sundae Cupcakes

These cupcakes feature the essential elements of a brownie sundae in a convenient, easy to serve and eat form.  I made them for the kids and they were a big hit at the pajama dance party we had today (we filled the dinosaur jar again).  Some kids were guilty of just licking the ice cream off the top and leaving the brownie, but most of them polished off the whole thing.

You could just make this with your favorite brownie recipe and your favorite homemade or store bought ice cream to save time.  I ended up making my brownies with olive oil because it was the ONLY thing left in my kitchen, but they turned out great!  Nobody noticed anything at all, and I felt a little less guilty about enjoying several of these cupcakes over the last 24 hours.

I got the inspiration and ganache for these from Joy the Baker, modified this ice cream recipe from Annie's Eats, and adapted this brownie recipe from food.com.  I can't wait to make these again with a different flavor of ice cream.  And then maybe with blondies instead of brownies?  The possibilities are endless.  And some whipped cream on top, maybe?  I totally wanted to do that, but all the cream was used up making the ice cream.

Ingredients (makes about 30 brownie cupcakes):

For the brownies:

1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted
1 cup olive oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder

For the vanilla bean ice cream (makes about 2 quarts):

3 cups heavy cream, divided
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the ganache:

1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To make the ice cream, heat half the cream in a medium saucepan with the salt, sugar, and vanilla bean (scrape in the seeds, then throw the bean in, too).  Stir occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in the remaining milk and cream.  Chill the mixture thoroughly, remove the vanilla bean, then freeze in your ice cream maker.

To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350 and line 30 muffin cups with paper liners.  Mix together the oil, sugar, and melted chocolate chips in a large bowl.  Stir in the eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together all the remaining dry ingredients.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients until no floury spots remain.  Divide the batter among the cupcake cups (don't add too much--you want the batter to just cover the bottom of the cupcake paper so you'll have room for the ice cream later).  Bake for 8 or so minutes until set.  It's better to underbake these a little since they'll harden up in the freezer later.  Cool to room temperature, then transfer to the freezer for at least 30 minutes before adding the ice cream.

To make the ganache, set the chocolate chips aside in a bowl and heat the milk or cream until scalded.  Pour it over the chocolate chips, cover, and let sit for a few minutes.  Stir in the vanilla.  If your chocolate isn't totally melted, microwave in 15-second intervals and stir until smooth.  Cool to room temperature before using.

To put the cupcakes together, spoon softened ice cream (right from the machine is perfect) over chilled brownies to fill the cupcake papers.  Freeze cupcakes for at least an hour.  Using a spoon, top each cupcake with a teaspoon or so of ganache.  Store in the freezer, and remove about five minutes before serving.