Celebrate World Nutella Day..... Mascarpone Brownies with Nutella & Toasted Hazelnut Topping

I very seldom make dessert so when I do it has to be special and there has to be a reason. February 5th has been designated World Nutella Day so what better excuse to have some chocolaty goodness and make dessert. Forget about counting calories and "Go Big or Go Home", as they say!!!!!

Nutella is that hazelnut spread that we longed for as children smeared onto warm bread fresh from the oven or in between crepes. As if a spoonful of this chocolate-hazelnut spread gianduja isn’t delicious enough straight off the spoon!!!! Think Nutella and Ferrero Rocher!!!! Nutella is the brand name of a hazelnut-based sweet spread created by the Italian company Ferrero in the 1940s. At the time, chocolate was very limited due to World War II. Nutella is now marketed in over 75 countries across the globe. Other countries even have their own versions of this spread.

Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy, and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso (and Shelley from At Home in Rome, in spirit) solemnly declare Thursday, February 5th “World Nutella Day 2009″ - a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella. The idea of spreading Nutella on my brownies came from Giada de Laurentis on the Food Network. She used brownies from a mix which are still good but don't have the lighter crumb and texture of these mascarpone brownies. These are my favourite by far!!! Toast a few hazelnuts add them to the batter, reserving a few choice specimens for the top!!

**Mascarpone Brownies with Nutella and Toasted Hazelnut Topping**

1 cup unsalted butter

3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened

 3 large eggs, at room-temperature

 2 teaspoons vanilla

 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

 1/4 tsp salt

 3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

1 cup Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread

 Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan.

Add the chopped chocolate to a large bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and bring it to just below a boil. Pour the hot butter over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Sift in the sugar and cocoa powder (I do this through a sieve, not with a sifter). With a wooden spoon, beat in the mascarpone, eggs (30 minutes on the counter brings them to room temperature) and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Gently fold the flour and salt into the batter. Add chopped hazelnuts, reserving 1/4 cup for decoration.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly--this is important since, if the batter isn't spread evenly, it won't bake evenly. Place into preheated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean (45 minutes did it for me). Place pan on a cooling rack and let brownies cool for 10-15 minutes.

 Spread Nutella over entire surface of brownies or cut into slices as I did and spread each piece with Nutella separately. Decorate with remaining chopped hazelnuts.