Chocolate and Salted Cashew Caramel Brownie Cake

Although this recipe has a somewhat grand title, in reality, it is super-simple to make. There is even some cheating going on (ready made caramel…shhh!),  to make your already busy life just that little bit easier.

The hardest part (if it’s fair to call it “hard”) is the brownie, which is based on my “go-to” recipe, also used in these rich dark chocolate and marshmallow versions.

The rest is just a case of melting a little chocolate, pouring over gooey caramel and sprinkling some nuts. The end result, although simple to prepare, is beyond delicious.

Decadent and rich, it is certainly not going to help with your diet; but hey, ho, a little bit of what you fancy does you good. Don’t you think?

Ingredients

Brownie:

• 100g (3/4 cup) dark chocolate
• 100g (just under 1/2 cup) butter
• 50ml (3 tablespoons) strong brewed coffee
• 60g (4 tablespoons) brown sugar
• 65g (4½ tablespoons) white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• 40g (1/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 15g (1 tablespoon) cocoa

Topping:

• 400g tin of caramel (I used Nestle)
• Handful of salted cashews
• 200g milk chocolate

Directions

~ Pre-heat the oven to 170°C and grease a large, round springform (mine was 26cm).

~ Slowly heat the chocolate and butter in a pan until just melted, then add the coffee. Leave the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.

~ In a large bowl, whisk the sugar with the eggs, then add in the cooled chocolate mixture.

~ Sift the vanilla sugar, flour and cocoa and stir into the wet ingredients, then mix until well combined.

~ Pour into the prepared tin and bake for around 20 minutes (until an inserted skewer comes out clean). Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

~ When cold, pour the caramel on top of the brownie, and spread until it is evenly distributed. Sprinkle with the salted cashews and place in the fridge for around one hour.

~ Melt the milk chocolate in a Bain Marie (double boiler) and then pour over the caramel, once again spreading it to achieve an even coverage. Place the cake in the fridge for at least four hours (preferably overnight) to set.

~ When ready to eat, cut the cake into slices. Because the topping is just milk chocolate, it will set really hard. Therefore, it's possible it might crack (mine did). To try and prevent this from happening, use a sharp knife that has been run under the hot tap. Enjoy!

Recipe Source:theculinaryjumble.com