Caramel and Chocolate Dessert Brownies

 

Mum had a hankering to make chocolate brownies, so we decided on a recipe called American Chocolate Brownies. Mum also had a desire for some caramel, so we combined the two to make this delicious dessert brownie. I tell you, she leads me astray sometimes with great desserts.

This brownie is so easy to make because it is simply mixing ingredients together, and it is so delicious that one piece is not enough.

Serve the brownie as a dessert when it is still warm out of the oven, or re-heat in the microwave for 17 seconds (this exact amount of time gives the caramel a lovely sticky gooeyness). Dust with icing sugar, and serve with vanilla ice-cream.

 

We used a can of pre-made “Nestle Highlander ready to use caramel” (this is the regular Highlander condensed milk product, boiled for several hours to make a rich caramel). This pre-made caramel product is very convenient, but if you want to make your own, boil a can of condensed milk for 3-4 hours, but make sure the can is covered with water the whole time or it can explode – which is why buying a can of pre-made caramel is much easier and safer.

 

 

 

RECIPE: CARAMEL AND CHOCOLATE DESSERT BROWNIES

 

250g butter, melted

½ cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 cup plain flour

1 level teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

380g can of caramel (you may not need to use all the caramel, if you have some left, heat it and pour over the brownie to serve)

 

1. Melt the butter either in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.

 

2. Mix melted butter and cocoa together, and add the sugar.

 

3. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating each egg in as you go.

 

4. Add the flour, baking powder, and vanilla. (Tip: it is a good idea to mix the baking powder into the flour thoroughly, so it combines evenly).

 

5. Beat the mixture together.

 

6. Prepare the slice tin (about 26 x 26cm) and line the base with baking paper)

 

7. Pour ¾ of the mixture into the tin (the remainder of the mixture will be used to cover the caramel). Spoon caramel on top of the mixture in the slice tin (as in the photo below), and then cover with remaining chocolate brownie mixture, so no caramel is visible.

 

 

8. Cook at 180 degrees Celsius for 25-30 minutes. You can tell when the brownie is almost cooked when it looses the shine on the top of the surface. Poke with a skewer, and when the skewer comes out clean, the brownie is cooked.

 

9. To serve: dust the brownie with icing sugar, add some vanilla ice-cream on the side, and for extra extravagance, heat up some more caramel, and pour this over the brownie and ice-cream.

 

 

 

This recipe also makes delicious Caramel and Chocolate Cupcakes / Muffins:

 

We made mini-sized ones. For these, add chocolate mixture to a cupcake/muffin case, then dollop in some caramel, and cover the caramel with some more chocolate mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Dust with icing sugar.