About these brownies
These salted-caramel brownies were actually a bit of an experiment. I recently visited Fredrick’s Ice Cream Parlour which is the BEST Ice Cream place ever. It’s really close by to me which is great, as I love their ice cream. I went to visit and took a few photos, but obviously I had to buy some of their delicious ice cream. They have so many delicious flavours, and I will be writing a post soon about my latest trip, but I highly recommend paying them a visit if you live around the Greater Manchester area. They even deliver ice cream around the Lancashire area at the moment, so if you’re local, check them out on their delivery website! Of course, I love eating ice cream straight out the tub, but lately I’ve been seeing lots of recipes circulating the internet which used melted ice cream in baked goods. I had so much ice cream, I thought, why not give it a try?
These Ultra Gooey Salted-Caramel Brownies are super easy to make, as lots of your ingredients exist within the ice cream. You literally mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, add melted ice cream, and cook them! The result is the gooeyist fudgiest brownies you will ever try. If you’re into a cakey type of brownie, these aren’t your deal. They are really chewy and fudgy in the middle, but with a crinkled top and crispy edges. This is my personal favourite type of brownie, but everyone has a different preference. Very rich, very decadent, but so delicious. The perfect pairing with a scoop of cold ice cream as well!
How to make the brownies fudgy
So the trick with these brownies is giving them time to set properly. When you take them out of the oven, they will still be warm, and probably look wobbly and uncooked in the middle. This is okay, as if you give them the proper time to set, they’ll turn to the fudgy brownie consistency that is my favourite. I leave mine to set in the fridge for around an hour (or longer) as this makes them easier to cut. If you skip this step, they’ll still be super tasty, but probably a little messy and hard to cut. (By all means, you can eat them from the pan with a spoon when still warm, but if you want to cut them to shape, you really do need the chilling step
Ingredients Options
Ice cream – I used Fredrick’s chocolate ice cream, but you can use any chocolate ice cream you like. You could even use vanilla ice cream and replace the cocoa powder with more flour to make some super fudgy blondies. You do need to make sure the ice cream is completely melted before using it in this recipe. If your ice cream has chocolate chips in then you’ll need to let it melt at room temperature so the chips don’t melt, but if it’s plain you can melt it in the microwave at 20-second intervals as I did.
Dulce de Leche/Caramel Sauce – I wanted to add a little something extra to these brownies so I decided to maker them salted caramel flavoured. You can either use a shop-bought one like this one or this one, or you can make your own, as I did. Its really easy to make your own, but it does take a little patience. All you need to make the caramel sauce is sugar, milk, baking soda and a little vanilla. This is the recipe I used. You really do need to be patient – mine took about an hour and a half to thicken. But you only need to stir it every once in a while so you can just leave it to bubble away while you do other things. To make the caramel drizzle for the topping, I saved a little of the sauce and added a few tbsp of milk to thin it out. Then I just drizzled it over the top.
Chocolate chips – You can absolutely add in any extras into this brownie recipe. You could add white, milk or dark chocolate chips, or even fudge pieces. Of course, you can add your favourite nuts for a crunch. Alternatively, you could stir in your favourite candy, like M&M’s, or Reese’s Cups.
Peanut butter – For a nutty brownie, sub the caramel sauce for your favourite peanut butter. It will give a similar look, and a delicious flavour!
Boxed brownie mix – For an even easier recipe, you can add the melted ice cream to your favourite boxed brownie mix! Even more simple!
Crinkled on top, fudgy in the middle, with pools of caramel sauce interspersed throughout, these Ultra Gooey Salted-Caramel Brownies are just the best! If you have an extra tub of ice cream knocking around, you have to try them! I hope you love them as much as I did!
Ultra Gooey Salted-Caramel Brownies
Ingredients
- 400 g golden caster sugar (2 cups)
- 100 g cocoa powder (1 cup)
- 120 g plain flour (1 cup)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 330 g chocolate ice cream (melted)
- ¾ cup Dulce de Leche/Caramel Sauce (optional - for topping)
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, sugar cocoa and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the melted ice cream and stir in to combine.
- Stir in any extras - chocolate chips, nuts, fudge pieces etc.
- Pour into a lined 9 x 9 inch baking tin and tap three times on the surface to level out the mixture.
- If adding the caramel sauce, spoon onto the surface of the mixture, then swirl around with a skewer or knife. Reserve a little for the caramel sauce topping.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes at 190°C or 170°C fan until the surface is cooked. The centre will still be wobbly. Once cooked, leave to cool and set in the fridge for around 1 hour.
- If adding the caramel sauce topping, stir around 2 tbsp milk into the remainder of your caramel sauce, then drizzle over the top of the brownies once cooled. Sprinkle on some extra sea salt.
- Use a sharp knife and cut into 9 pieces. Enjoy with a scoop of ice cream.
Method in Pictures
Gather your ingredients
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl
Mix them together with a wooden spoon
Make sure your ice cream is melted
Add to the dry ingredients
And stir to combine
Line a 9 inch tray with baking paper
Spread the brownie mix into the tray
Spoon over your caramel sauce
Swirl in with a skewer
Bake for 35-40 minutes, then leave to cool in the fridge
Add a little milk to your caramel sauce to thin it
When cool, cut your brownies and drizzle with caramel sauce
Sprinkle with salt and serve with ice cream