Dulce de Leche brownies adapted from David Lebovitz

 
Mum certainly has shallow dreams, and making this caramel over the weekend was one of them.  Yes!  How easy was it!  Caramel aka dulce de leche aka Confiture de lait!  David will forever and ever be,  my all time favourite sweets/desserts connoisseur!

The process of making the caramel wasn't all that difficult, except for the patience part where mum was trying her mightest not to peek into the oven. And it was all worth the one hour wait - smooth and gooey, sweet and velvety, creamy caramel heaven!  Aaaahh!  Ate screamed with delight when she had a taste, and Dad had equal emotions as when his favourite NBA team scores a basket!  Yes!  A triumph on the first go.  How lucky!   While Ate, dad and mum were exchanging delighted shrieks and exxagerated hit from the gooey caramel, the three of you were just in awe, but didn't dare try the light brown sweet creation. 

This caramel made its way into the brownies, which are available online in David's blog and also in his  book "The Sweet Life In Paris".   This book made me hungry to bake more sweets, made me laugh out loud, made me think sweet thoughts, and most of all, opened my eyes to the realities of living in Paris. Beyond what are written in travel brochures and seen in movies.  I borrowed the book from the local library and have kept it too long now, so mum's getting our own copy.  Of course, to share and pass on to everybody in time.


This brownie recipe is almost the same recipe (also from David) which I've posted several weeks back, except this one has more flour (a cup) than the previous one (which was only a quarter cup)

This is David's recipe of brownies fortified with Dulce de Leche!  

8 tablespoons (115g) salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

(Mum used dark cooking chocolates which we buy in bars)

1/4 cup (25g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

(used up all our stock of Nestle Dark Cocoa - time to order up online from USA Foods)

3 large eggs

1 cup (200g) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (140g) flour

optional: 1 cup (100 g) toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup Dulce de Leche (or Cajeta)

 (for the dulce de leche, I followed David's recipe - 1 can Nestle condensed milk which was only about 395g as indicated on the label, poured into a glass baking tray and placed on a bigger baking/roasting tray with a water bath, placed in the oven for an hour in 180 degrees C)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C).

Line a 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with a long sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides. If it doesn’t reach all the way up and over all four sides, cross another sheet of foil over it, making a large cross with edges that overhang the sides. Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with a bit of butter or non-stick spray.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, then the flour. Mix in the nuts, if using.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Here comes the fun part. Drop one-third of the Dulce de Leche, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining Dulce de Leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the Dulce de Leche slightly.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The brownies are done when the center feels just-slightly firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Storage:These brownies actually become better the second day, and will keep well for up to 3 days. 

David's brownies looked nicer, while mum's looked like the caramel slightly bubbled on top, but ooh la la! When you sink your teeth into brownies and you experience the velvety, creamy dulce de leche,  it will change your brownies impression forever!  And you may actually make your way anywhere with these, not just in Paris David. :)