brownie sundaes with salted caramel
As promised, here are the recipes for the brownies, ice cream, and caramel sauce for the sunday funday video I shot with Crocs! Brownie sundaes are the ultimate comfort food for summer. You can purchase vanilla ice cream or your favorite flavor if you prefer, but I highly recommend the marshmallow recipe below!
Double-Chocolate Brownies
I make these brownies in a quarter-sheet pan. (This probably looks half the size of the regular sheet pans we use at home, but in restaurants those are technically called half-sheets, so these are quarters.) They fit perfectly that way, and I like the size they come out, but you can also use an 8×8 pan. They are super-rich, totally fudgy – and thus, my perfect brownie.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a quarter-sheet pan (see text above) or an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, or butter and flour.
Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Allow to cool slightly if you have the time.
Whisk in sugar, salt, and espresso. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Whisk in flour until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Transfer to prepared pan, smoothing the top.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking. Allow to cool in pan before removing.
Marshmallow Ice Cream
This is based off of my standard ice cream recipe, except here I use marshmallows in place of the sugar. The end result is a super-creamy and rich ice cream, that tastes like vanilla, but better. The texture is dreamy!
Prepare an ice bath. Heat milk and 1 cup cream in medium saucepan. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl; set aside. Add marshmallows to milk and cream mixture and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve.
Whisk about a cup (no need to measure) of the simmering liquid slowly into the egg yolks. (This is called tempering – slowly bringing up the temperature of the egg yolks will prevent scrambled eggs.) Now, add the egg yolks back into the pot with the remaining milk and cream mixture. Add the vanilla and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. This will happen relatively quickly – steam will rise off the top but do not let the liquid boil. (You can also use a thermometer to gauge this – the correct temperature should be 160 degrees.) Remove from the heat. Whisk in remaining 1/2 cup cold cream.
Wipe the bowl clean and set it over the ice bath. Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer and into the bowl. Whisk every now and then to cool the mixture down faster. Once it is relatively cool or room temperature, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Freeze the custard using an ice cream maker according to your machine’s instructions. Transfer to a quart container and freeze for 4 hours.
Salted Caramel Sauce
If you’re afraid of making caramel, don’t be! It’s super-simple. The trick to get the best flavor is to just barely burn it – you want the sugars to caramelize properly, without really burning it and turning black. I’ll admit, this takes a little practice and confidence building – better to start off with taking it off sooner until you get the hang of it – it will still be good, as long as you’ve got the amber color going on!
In a pot over medium-high heat, stir sugar, corn syrup, and ¼ cup water together and cook until it is a deep amber color. Slowly whisk in warm cream and butter. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble up! Add Maldon to taste. Serve warm, or reheat if you want to serve later.
7/05/2013
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