Mom's Brownies with Caramel Sauce

Mom's Brownies with Caramel Sauce
Chuck Hughes

1/2 cup good cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Caramel Sauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup 35% cream
Pinch coarse salt
Dash of cayenne pepper

Directions

Stir together cocoa powder, flour and salt. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until thick and lemon-colored, about 2 minutes. Blend in vanilla and chocolate. Slowly add cocoa-flour mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, saving some pecans back for garnishing the top.

Generously butter and flour a 13x9-inch pan (33 X 23 cm). You can also use a sringform (25X6 cm).
Fill pan with batter. Dot with pecans. Place pan in center of 350 degree oven (177 C).

Bake until wood pick inserted in center comes out moist from melted chocolate (not batter), about 25 minutes. The top will likely start to show some cracks â?" it is drier than the interior. Let cool completely on rack.

Cut into 12 squares, or if using a round springform pan cut into a nice big triangle. Top with warm caramel sauce and a small scoop of your favourite vanilla ice cream.

Caramel Sauce

Place water and sugar in a saucepan.  On medium heat bring to a bare boil to dissolve the sugar and then jack up the heat to a full rolling boil and let it boil away for 20-30 minutes until brownish. Do not touch it.

As soon as it is med brown add the cream and whisk to incorporate. The sugar will clump but gradually be mixed in to the syrup.

Continue to boil until thicker. It will thicken even more as it cools. Serve warm on top of the brownie a with a scoop of best vanilla ice cream.