Heath Bar Brownie Sundaes/Caramel Sauce
Submitted by jenjen
Heath bar brownie sundaes stack fudgy chocolate brownies studded with Heath pieces, toffee-ice-cream, and homemade amber caramel sauce. A full-project dessert worth every dirty bowl.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
20 minCOOK
55 minREADY
1 hrsHeath bar brownie sundaes are a three-part dessert project that delivers a restaurant-style showpiece at the end. Homemade toffee ice cream, a proper from-scratch caramel sauce, and fudgy Heath-studded brownies all stacked into a single sundae.
The ice cream is the easy part. Soften good vanilla ice cream, fold in chopped Heath bars, and refreeze. Do this first so it has time to firm up while you tackle the rest.
The caramel is where the skill shows. Sugar and water boil without stirring until the mixture turns deep amber, about 8 minutes. That color is everything. Too pale and the sauce tastes like sweet cream; too dark and it turns bitter. Add warmed heavy cream off the heat; the mixture will sputter violently, which is why warming the cream in advance matters. Cold cream would seize the caramel into a lump.
Brownies use two chocolates (bittersweet for depth, semisweet for sweetness) melted with a full cup of butter for that dense, glossy-top fudge texture. Heath bar pieces go inside and on top. The key call is the bake time: 27 minutes gets you fudgy, 35 gets you cake-like. Choose deliberately.
Stack warm brownie, scoop of toffee ice cream, and a generous drizzle of warm caramel. Eat immediately.
Pro Tips
- Brush the sides of the caramel pan with a wet pastry brush if sugar crystals form on the walls. One crystal can seed the whole pot into a grainy mess.
- Warm the cream in advance. Even lukewarm works. It’s the temperature shock that causes caramel to seize, not the moisture itself.
- Chill the chopped Heath bars briefly. Warm hands melt them and they smear when folded into ice cream.
- Line the brownie pan with a parchment sling so you can lift the whole slab out clean. Makes slicing into square sundae bases much easier.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
Place ice cream in medium bowl and soften slightly at room temperature.
Stir in chopped Heath bars. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and freeze.
Bring whipping cream to simmer in heavy small saucepan.
Set aside.
Combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water in heavy medium saucepan.
Stir over medlium heat until sugar dissolves.
Increase heat to high and boil without stirring until caramel is deep amber color.
brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush if sugar crystals form and occasionally swirling pan, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and slowly add warm whipping cream (mixture will bubble vigorously).
Return sauce to low heat and stir until smooth.
Remove from heat and mix in butter.
Cover and refrigerate.
Preheat oven.
Combine butter and both chocolates in top of double boiler set over simmering water; stir until melted.
Remove from over water and cool mixture slightly.
Using electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
Beat in chocolate mixture.
Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.
Stir in 1 cup chopped Heath bars. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons chopped candy.
For fudgy consistency, bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist batter still attached, about 27 minutes; for cakelike texture bake until tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes.
Cool.
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