Mint n' Chip Ice Cream Brownies

When I saw these Strawberry Ice Cream Brownies on My Kitchen Cafe I book marked them immediately. They looked SOOO good! For Ella's birthday I made them with Mint n' Chip ice cream because it's her favorite. They were delicious, but a little messy to eat. Next time I try them I think I'll make mini-cupcakes that are bite-size...or just make regular brownies, top them with the ice cream and the ganache in a bowl, because really they all taste the same and that is a lot less work :-).

*Makes about 24 cupcakes
For the brownies:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/8 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the ice cream:
1 quart mint n' chip ice cream, slightly softened
For the ganache:
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
To make the brownie bottoms, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with foil liners (and using foil makes a difference, I only had 14 left so I used paper liners for the rest and they were hard to get off).
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; stir together and set aside. In a heatproof bowl combine the butter and chocolate. Microwave on 50% power for one minute. Stir. Repeat until the chocolate and butter are melted and well combined (be careful not to overheat).
In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk to blend.
Stir in the warm chocolate mixture, and then the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 6-8 minutes. Don’t overbake or the brownies will be dry. Leaving the brownies in the cupcake pans, cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Top with strawberry ice cream until the cupcake liner is full. Return the cupcake pans to the freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour the cream evenly over the chocolate, let stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth with a rubber spatula. If the ganache is too thin, allow it to stand at room temperature to cool and become more easily spreadable. Once the ganache is thick but still pourable, scoop it by the teaspoonful on top of the ice cream cupcakes and spread over the tops. Return to the freezer.

Remove the cupcakes from the freezer about 10 minutes before serving.