Fudgy in the middle with slightly crisp yet chewy edges; every bite of these black forest brownies is pure heaven. Make them as bars or in muffin cups!
Prepare a cupcake tin by coating generously with cooking spray. Then sprinkle with flour. If you have cupcake liners, use those instead of greasing a metal pan.
Preheat oven to the temperature recommended on the box of your brownie mix.
In a large mixing bowl prepare the brownie mix according to the instructions on the box.
Spoon prepared brownie batter into the prepared muffin tin (approx. ¾ of the way full) and bake for the recommended time.
While the brownies are baking prepare your chocolate mousse by melting the chocolate chips and water over medium-low heat in a medium pan using the double-boiler method.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and then add a small amount of melted chocolate to the eggs and mix until well combined (this is just to ensure you don’t scramble your eggs).
Add the yolks back into the rest of the melted chocolate and mix.
Continue to cook over medium-low heat until chocolate has thickened (approximately 2-3 minutes). Be careful not to burn the chocolate.
Add in vanilla extract, stir, and then remove from heat. Let chocolate cool completely.
As soon as brownies are done baking in the oven, remove and immediately press the bottom of a small measuring cup (a round coffee scoop works well) into the center of each one.
Remove, brownie cups from pan and let cool on a cooling rack.
In in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the whipping cream with the sugar on a high speed until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
Gently fold in the cooled chocolate to the whipped cream you just prepared.
Once chocolate is completely mixed into the whipped cream, spoon evenly into the cooled brownie cups.
Place the mousse filled brownie cups on a tray in the fridge and allow to set for 2 hours.
Once the mousse has set, top with a spoonful of cherry pie filling and then with a dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
See written post for photos and double-boiler details. Store in an airtight container refrigerator for up to 5 days.