These Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse Brownies are heaven sent! Consisting of a fudge brownie base and a homemade Bailey’s mousse topping with a drizzle of chocolate ganache, they’re the ULTIMATE sinful brownie mashup!
Y’all, I did a very naughty thing – I added Bailey’s AND chocolate mousse on top of a fudge brownie (!!!)
It was a genius idea on my part and I take full and complete responsibility for my actions. My reparations include giving you the full written recipe so you can make it and forgive me because these are damn good!
With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up, I figured I needed to jazz up a recipe with some Bailey’s to be festive and whatnot. I admit, despite having some Irish heritage, I often forget or bypass St. Patrick’s Day and go straight to Easter when it comes to decorating my house, planning my menu, making recipes for my blog, and everything else. I’m not a big corned beef and cabbage gal, nor do I care much for beer, and green isn’t really my color, so it’s easy to forget about March 17.
But I promised myself I’d do something in honor of St. Patrick’s Day this year, so here we go! And boy, this one’s a doozy. You’re going to love it!
These Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse Brownies have a couple of components to them, but I promise they are super easy. Here’s the breakdown:
The Brownies
The brownies consist of your usual ingredients for fudge brownies: melted butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, salt, and cocoa powder. I like using a higher quality cocoa powder, such as Ghirardelli 100% cocoa powder, because it is the star ingredient for these brownies and I really feel it makes a difference! To really ramp up the flavor of these brownies, I also recommend adding a little bit of instant espresso powder which really sends these over the top! The instant espresso powder doesn’t make these super mocha-y but rather richens, deepens and enhances that chocolate flavor for a supremely tasty brownie.
The Bailey’s Mousse
The mousse is a semi-homemade mousse hack, if you will, that consists of two parts: the base and the fluffy part. The base is the part with the hack in which we use miniature marshmallows to give it some of that fluffiness. You’ll melt together some miniature marshmallows, Bailey’s, and chopped semi-sweet chocolate in a saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth, then let it cool. Once cooled, you’ll whip some heavy whipping cream and Bailey’s together until stiff peaks form, then fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate mixture. This is your mousse! It’s crazy sounding but it totally works! The marshmallows give it a nice springy mousse texture without all the hard work.
The Ganache
The ganache is the crowning jewel on top of these decadent brownies. It’s just some semi-sweet chocolate chips and hot heavy cream whisked together until glossy and smooth. Drizzle it over the set mousse brownies and voila! You have the most gorgeous and indulgent brownies ever!
When you put it all together, these brownies have such a fudgy, indulgent texture, a light and fluffy whipped Bailey’s mousse and a creamy and rich ganache you’ll LOVE.
These Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse Brownies cannot be beat!
Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse Brownies
These Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse Brownies are insanely delicious and ultra indulgent! Layers of chocolate fudge brownies, fluffy Bailey’s mousse and a rich chocolate ganache drizzle.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
For the Brownies:
- 3/4 cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter melted
- 1½ cups granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder optional but recommended
For the Bailey’s Mousse:
- 3/4 cup miniature marshmallows
- 4 oz (1 bar) semi-sweet chocolate bar roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur divided
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
For the Ganache:
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line a 9×9″ light metal square baking pan with foil, extending the sides of the foil over the edges of the pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and granulated sugar until combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Lastly, mix in the cocoa powder, salt, flour, and instant espresso powder if using until a soft batter comes together. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
Bake the brownies for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist, but not wet, crumbs. Cool completely.
For the mousse: In a small saucepan, combine the miniature marshmallows, chopped chocolate bar and 1/4 cup of Bailey’s liqueur over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until everything is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and cool completely, about 10 minutes.
After chocolate mixture has cooled, whip the heavy whipping cream and remaining 2 Tablespoons of Bailey’s liqueur together on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream mixture gently until no white streaks remain. Spread the mousse evenly over the brownies in the pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm and set.
Just before serving, top the brownies with the ganache. For the ganache: microwave the heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl or cup for about 30 seconds or until hot. Pour over the chocolate chips in a small bowl and let stand for about 5 minutes or until softened. Whisk until melted and smooth. Pipe or drizzle over the brownies. Cut into squares and serve. Store any leftover brownies in the fridge covered to keep the mousse from drying out.
Notes
I recommend using Ghirardelli cocoa powder, semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, and chocolate chips for this recipe. Spring for the higher quality chocolate since chocolate is the star of this one!
The Bailey’s does get cooked down some in the cooked chocolate mousse mixture, but because there is Bailey’s in the uncooked whipped cream, I recommend using your discretion when serving to people under 21.
You guys are going to LOVE these supremely fudgy brownies!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
