Amaretto Cherry Hazelnut Brownies Recipe

Two hours for something that looks like you’ve been baking all day. These aren’t regular brownies—they’re basically a chocolate hazelnut cake situation with cherry jelly, dark chocolate custard, and amaretto whipped cream stacked on top. Dense. Not fudgy. Meant to be sliced and plated like you’re doing the work.

Why You’ll Love These Amaretto Cherry Hazelnut Brownies

Takes two hours total, but most of it’s sitting. The actual hands-on time is maybe 20 minutes spread across the thing.

Chocolate hazelnut brownies that aren’t trying to be something they’re not. They’re structured. Built in layers. Each part tastes like its own ingredient—dark chocolate custard tastes like dark chocolate, cherry jelly tastes like actual cherries, not jam from a jar.

Amaretto whipped cream sits on top, piped, holding for days without breaking down. White chocolate in it keeps it stable.

Looks complicated. Takes practice maybe twice. Then fine every time.

Works for dinner parties because you can make it two days ahead and add the whipped cream in the morning.

What You Need for Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

Chocolate-hazelnut spread—like Nutella, basically—goes into the batter instead of melted chocolate. Changes everything. Gives it this specific texture that’s not quite fudgy, not quite cake. Just dense and smooth and slightly grainy from the hazelnuts.

Toasted hazelnuts crushed up. Crunch matters. Coarse, not powder.

Light brown sugar, not dark. Different flavor. Softer tannin thing.

Eggs room temperature. Whisk them with the chocolate spread until it’s the color of wet sand. That takes about two minutes.

Unsalted butter melted and cooled. Cool it down or the eggs cook into the batter.

All-purpose flour. Not cake flour. The ratio matters.

For the cherry topping: fresh or frozen cherries, halved. Gelatin to set the jelly. Cornstarch to thicken it. The gelatin plus cornstarch combination holds better than just one.

White chocolate, chopped finely, for the amaretto whipped cream. Melts into the cream when it’s hot. Amaretto liqueur—use real almond liqueur, not extract.

Dark chocolate for the custard. 90 grams. Chopped small so it melts from the hot cream without lumps.

Optional chocolate crumble: melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder, butter, flour, powdered milk, salt, sugar. Bakes into something between a cookie and a crumb streusel. Gets coated in chocolate after. Takes time but worth it if you’re doing the whole thing.

How to Make Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

Start with the amaretto whipped cream because it needs five hours minimum in the fridge. Chop white chocolate small. Heat the cream with amaretto until it steams, almost boiling. Pour that over the chocolate. Wait one minute. Whisk until it’s completely smooth. No lumps. Cover it, stick it in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Butter a 20 centimeter square pan and line it with parchment, leaving the paper hanging over two sides so you can pull the whole thing out later.

Mix flour, crushed hazelnuts, and salt in one bowl. Do this first.

In another bowl, whisk eggs with chocolate-hazelnut spread, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Do this for about two minutes. It should go uniform—the color changes, it gets lighter, smoother. This part matters because you’re aerating the eggs slightly, which changes the texture of the final brownie.

Alternate adding the dry mix and the melted butter to the egg mixture. A bit of flour. Stir. A bit of butter. Stir. Keeps everything from clumping. Bake at 160°C for thirty to thirty-eight minutes.

The toothpick test: stick one in the center. You want moist crumbs clinging to it. Not wet batter. Not completely clean. That middle ground is where the texture actually lives. Cool it for twenty-five minutes in the pan before anything else happens.

How to Get Dark Chocolate Custard and Cherry Jelly to Set Right

The cherry topping goes on while the brownie cools. Sprinkle gelatin powder on fifteen milliliters of cold water. Let it sit for five minutes. It swells. Looks weird. That’s right.

In a saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Add the halved cherries and the remaining water. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until it thickens. Should take five minutes, maybe six. You’ll feel the thickness change. When you drag the spoon through it, the trail stays. That’s the sign.

Remove from heat. Purée the cherries with a hand blender—get it mostly smooth but not a liquid. Stir in that swollen gelatin. It dissolves from the heat of the cherry mixture. Cool it completely before spreading it over the brownie. Then chill the brownie with the cherry layer on it for one hour. The gelatin sets.

Dark chocolate custard is different. Whisk egg yolks with sugar, off heat. It shouldn’t be hot yet or the yolks scramble. Slowly add the hot cream while whisking. Temperature matters. If you go too fast, the eggs break.

Put it on low heat. Stir constantly. Scrape the sides and bottom of the pan because that’s where heat concentrates and where it breaks if you’re not watching. You’re cooking it gently until it coats the back of a spoon—actual coating, not just touching it. When you can run your finger through it and it stays parted, that’s done.

Add the dark chocolate off heat. Whisk until smooth. Cool for twenty-five minutes before spreading it over the cherry layer. Then refrigerate the whole thing for at least ninety minutes. The custard sets but stays soft.

Amaretto Brownies with White Chocolate Cream and Chocolate Crumble

The chocolate crumble is optional but changes the texture completely. Make it if you’re doing the whole production.

Line a sheet pan with silicone mat or parchment. Mix softened butter, flour, powdered milk, sugar, and salt until it barely looks moistened. Like wet sand. Just barely. Break it up into chunks on the pan.

Bake at 160°C for seven minutes, stirring halfway through. Should be golden and crisp when it comes out. Cool for twenty-five minutes.

Coat each piece with melted dark chocolate. Spread on the pan to harden—takes about two and a half hours. After it sets, toss everything in cocoa powder. The cocoa sticks to the chocolate.

Remove the whole brownie from the pan using the parchment overhang. Trim the edges straight. Cut into twelve equal rectangles. Size matters here because you’re plating them.

Beat the amaretto whipped cream—it’s been in the fridge for hours by now—until firm peaks but still pliable. Not stiff. Still moves. Transfer to a pastry bag with a Saint-Honoré tip. Pipe onto each brownie piece. Top with chocolate crumble if using. Garnish with a halved cherry.

That’s it. Looks like you’ve been doing this for years.

Layered Brownies with Amaretto Whipped Cream Tips and Common Mistakes

The biggest mistake is oversetting the custard. Cook it until it coats the spoon, not until it’s pudding. You want it soft enough to spread but firm enough to hold shape. Once it cools on the cherry layer, it firms up more.

Don’t skip cooling things between layers. The timeline is real. Amaretto whipped cream needs five hours. Cherry jelly needs one hour to set. Custard needs an hour and a half. If you rush it, the layers slide into each other.

Chopping the white chocolate finely matters for the whipped cream. Big chunks won’t dissolve into the hot cream completely. You’ll have grainy spots.

Hazelnuts must be toasted. Raw hazelnuts taste flat. Toasting brings the oil out, changes the flavor completely.

The oven temperature is 160°C, not 180°C. Most people bake brownies hotter. This lower temp keeps the edges from being dry while the center cooks through. Thirty to thirty-eight minutes. Check at thirty with a toothpick.

Brownies with chocolate hazelnut spread hold more moisture than brownies with cocoa powder and melted chocolate. The spread itself has fat and sugar that affects how it bakes. Don’t expect the same crust.

If the chocolate crumble is your first time making it, taste one piece before coating the whole batch in chocolate. If it’s not crispy enough, it won’t feel right on the plate.

Amaretto Cherry Hazelnut Brownies Recipe

By Emma

Prep:

1h 5min

Cook:

55 min

Total:

2h

Servings:

12 servings

Ingredients

• Amaretto whipped cream
• 60 g white chocolate chopped
• 150 ml 35% whipping cream
• 10 ml almond liqueur amaretto
• Brownie
• 50 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 30 g toasted hazelnuts crushed
• 1 ml salt
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 200 ml chocolate-hazelnut spread like Nutella
• 80 g light brown sugar
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 90 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
• Chocolate crumble optional
• 20 ml softened unsalted butter
• 20 ml all-purpose flour
• 20 ml powdered milk
• 20 ml sugar
• pinch fleur de sel
• 60 g melted dark chocolate
• 20 ml cocoa powder
• Cherry topping
• 4 ml gelatin powder
• 20 ml water
• 10 ml cornstarch
• 120 g pitted cherries fresh or frozen halved plus extras for garnish
• Dark chocolate custard
• 2 egg yolks
• 200 ml hot 35% whipping cream
• 90 g dark chocolate chopped

Method

1. Make amaretto whipped cream
2. 1 Chop white chocolate finely. Heat cream with amaretto to just boil. Pour over chocolate, wait 1 minute, whisk until smooth. Cover, refrigerate at least 5 hours.
3. Prepare brownie
4. 2 Preheat oven 160°C (320°F). Butter 20 cm square pan, line with parchment paper leaving overhang.
5. 3 Mix flour, hazelnuts, salt together in bowl.
6. 4 In separate bowl, whisk eggs, chocolate spread, brown sugar, vanilla until uniform about 2 min. On low speed, add dry mix alternating with melted butter until combined.
7. 5 Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake 30-38 min. Toothpick test: expect moist crumbs, not fully clean. Cool 25 min.
8. Chocolate crumble optional
9. 6 Line sheet with silicone mat or parchment. Mix butter, flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt until barely moistened. Break up into chunks on sheet.
10. 7 Bake 7 min, stirring halfway, until golden and crisp. Cool 25 min.
11. 8 Coat crumble pieces with melted dark chocolate. Spread on sheet to harden about 2.5 hours. Toss in cocoa powder after set.
12. Cherry topping
13. 9 Sprinkle gelatin on 15 ml water, let swell 5 min.
14. 10 In saucepan mix sugar, cornstarch. Add cherries and remaining water. Cook stirring over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat.
15. 11 Purée cherries with hand blender. Stir in gelatin until dissolved. Cool before spreading over brownie. Chill 1 hour to set.
16. Dark chocolate custard
17. 12 Whisk yolks with sugar off heat until smooth. Slowly add hot cream whisking.
18. 13 Heat gently stirring constantly, scrape pan edges, until thick and coats spoon back. Remove from heat.
19. 14 Add chopped chocolate, whisk till smooth. Cool 25 min before spreading on cherry layer. Refrigerate 1.5 hours. Freeze stage optional.
20. Assembly
21. 15 Remove brownie from pan using parchment overhang. Trim edges to square. Cut brownie into 12 equal rectangles.
22. 16 Beat amaretto whipped cream until firm peaks but still pliable. Transfer to pastry bag fitted with Saint-Honoré tip.
23. 17 Pipe whipped cream over each brownie piece. Sprinkle with chocolate crumble if using. Garnish with halved cherries.

Nutritional information

Calories

370

Protein

5g

Carbs

32g

Fat

24g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies with Cherry

Can I make these brownies ahead? Two days. Make everything except the amaretto whipped cream. Pipe the cream in the morning. If you pipe it the night before, it stays fine but loses a tiny bit of structure by day two.

What if I don’t have amaretto liqueur? Almond extract doesn’t work here because you need the alcohol to thin the cream properly. Skip the liqueur entirely. Use just whipping cream and white chocolate. Not the same but fine.

Why gelatin and cornstarch together for the cherry topping? Gelatin alone breaks if the brownie moves around on a plate. Cornstarch adds body. Together they hold without being rubbery. Not sure why this specific combination works but it does.

How thick should the custard be when it goes on the brownie? Spreadable but not liquid. Like yogurt that’s been sitting. If it’s too thick, it cracks when you spread it. Too thin and it runs off into the cherry layer.

Can I substitute frozen cherries for fresh? Thaw them first, drain the liquid, halve them. Frozen cherries sometimes have more liquid, which throws off the cornstarch ratio. Thawing lets you control that.

How do I cut these brownies cleanly? Sharp knife, wipe it between cuts. Dip it in hot water, dry it, cut. The custard is soft enough that a dull knife drags and pulls. Hot water on the blade helps it slice through the cream without resistance.