Dulce de Leche Brownies

Dulce de Leche Brownies - made October 17, 2012 from David Lebovitz

If you click on the recipe title and go to the link on David Lebovitz's site, you'll see his picture of his brownies are much cleaner and neater than mine.  I was short on time to get these cut and packaged up before I went to bed so I took this picture when the brownies had barely cooled - the dulce de leche didn't set and made for messy knife cuts.  While not pretty, it's still dulce de leche and I have a high level of forgiveness on that measure. The only thing I did differently from the original instructions was I dropped dollops of dulce de leche over the bottom layer of brownie batter then covered it completely with the rest of the batter rather than letting some of the dulce de leche peek through the top layer.

I baked these for some friends I was meeting for dinner the next night.  I think they tasted good.  The only reason I'm not sure is I forgot to eat a taste test piece and wrapped everything up to give away.  I did sample a crumb or two from the knife cuts and those were fine.  If you want something a little neater looking, chill the brownies for a couple of hours before cutting.

8 tablespoons (115g) salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (25g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) flour
1 cup dulce de leche

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C).
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan.
5. 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.
6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The brownies are done when the center feels just-slightly firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

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