Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake
October 7, 2008 at 5:11 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 63 Comments
My blog buddy Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy picked a winning recipe for this week’s TWD–Dorie’s Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake. These are three good things that go well together, let me tell you!
Although it’s called a “brownie cake,” it’s not as dense and fudgy as a brownie. It definitely has a cake-like crumb, but is quite moist. (Mine dipped a little in the center as it cooled, but Dorie suggests that that’s normal.) I’m running a little low on vanilla extract, and trying to save my last few drops for something where it’s really needed. Here I replaced it with a sprinkle of instant espresso and a splash of Kahlua added to the warm melted chocolate and butter. I often put espresso powder in my brownies, so hey, why not here?
You can probably tell from the top picture that I made a half-recipe (a 6-incher). I made even less caramel…I figured 1/3 of the full amount was all I’d really need. Rather than pour the caramel-peanut sauce over the whole cake, I spooned it over the cut slices. That way I could easily (and cleanly) wrap and save the remaining cake overnight.
Sweet and salty, this has all the flavors of a yummy candy bar! For the recipe, look in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Tammy’s post. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll to see what over 250 other people had to say!
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a whisk and a spoon 
Absolutely beautiful pictures! The cake looks divine!
Comment by Chelle— October 7, 2008 #
wow these look so goey and chocolatey 🙂 my favourites
Comment by snooky doodle— October 7, 2008 #
Holy yum!!
Comment by VeggieGirl— October 7, 2008 #
wow, that looks amazing Steph! thanks for making my choice – gorgeous as always!!
Tammy :0)
Comment by Tammy— October 7, 2008 #
A tasty rich cake and a great pic!
Comment by Ulrike— October 7, 2008 #
Luscious!
I have to admit… even if I’m a sugar bug, this was terribly sweet, I found.
Beautiful pics, as usual!
Comment by Vibi— October 7, 2008 #
Wow, you’ve made this cake look really incredible. Very nice.
Comment by rainbowbrown— October 7, 2008 #
Sounds wonderful! I thought about adding espresso powder, but didn’t. I kind of wish I had. I like the idea of adding the topping to individual pieces, too.
Comment by Di— October 7, 2008 #
Des photos absolument décadentes !!
Comment by isabelle— October 7, 2008 #
Yummy! I should have had mine with the ice cream..great idea. As always, lovely photos!
Comment by foodlibrarian— October 7, 2008 #
This looks so beautiful and delicious! I love that you added Kahlua and instant espresso- what a wonderful combination!
Comment by Erin— October 7, 2008 #
It looks decadent and marvelous! Smart choice to serve the caramel/peanut sauce only on the cut portions, we had a caramel flood!
Comment by Mary Ann— October 7, 2008 #
I definitely went with some espresso powder in mine too – always a good thing with chocolate. Spooning the caramel over each slice was a good idea though, cutting through the peanuts and caramel on top was a little difficult! Such a pretty cake.
Comment by Caitlin— October 7, 2008 #
Mmmmm. I hadn’t thought of topping each slice. Good idea!
Comment by Jules— October 7, 2008 #
Oh wicked one!
Comment by Cynthia— October 7, 2008 #
oohhh Kahlua sounds fabulous for this recipe. NICE. Good idea about topping each slice to save the other slices for later. I’ll have to remember that next time I make it. Luckily when I made the cake it was all eaten up! HAHA
Clara @ iheartfood4thought
Comment by CB— October 7, 2008 #
OMG, that second picture is total food porn!!! The coffee additions sound wonderful…beautiful job Steph!
Linda
http://tendercrumb.blogspot.com/
Comment by LInda— October 7, 2008 #
Loving those pics and I am glad you were creative with the vanilla extract replacements. Excellent job! Whoo hoo! 😛
Comment by Sugar Betty— October 7, 2008 #
You cake looks so perfect! And great idea on leaving the topping off. I topped mine and now it’s a big mess in the fridge. Still yummy though!
Comment by amanda— October 7, 2008 #
i have been so so so craving brownies this past week. but this cake version will certainly fit the need, especially with drool worthy peanut caramel on top!
Comment by mimi— October 7, 2008 #
I am loving your interpretation of the recipe this week. Kahlua and espresso, delicious! Your pictures just made me gain another ten pounds by the way! I did a white chocolate version in order to please my chocolate hating husband…I know, he’s crazy!
Comment by Marie— October 7, 2008 #
Looks delish and I love your substitution for the vanilla!
Comment by HoneyB— October 7, 2008 #
What a great idea not putting the carmel sauce on so you can wrap up the cake 🙂 This is my first week with TWD so I will be making this today. I hope mine comes out as good as yours!
Comment by Amanda— October 7, 2008 #
I accidentally filled my little cake tins up too much and they souffled as they cooked! Which meant that when I took them out, they sunk in the middle quite a lot 😦 Oh well.. lucky for the peanut and caramel topping!
Comment by Bria— October 7, 2008 #
Steph, both of us were on the same track with not getting committed to finishing off the cake too soon. I will miss you on this side of the equator. I gave you an award you can have a look on my blog.
Comment by andreainthekitchen— October 7, 2008 #
I almost didn’t top mine until the last minute, but my caramel had other plans.
Comment by chocolatechic— October 7, 2008 #
Seriously, could your cake be any more perfect? Wow, it looks fantastic! Mine “dipped” a lot more than that! 🙂
Comment by LyB— October 7, 2008 #
I love kahlua. What a great idea. I have caramel envy – mine was a disaster. Great job!
Comment by peggy— October 8, 2008 #
that looks perfect
Comment by Spike— October 8, 2008 #
Your brownie cake looks great! I agree that it is easier to keep the cake in the fridge by separating the cake and the caramel, that’s what I did too!
Comment by Piggy— October 8, 2008 #
Seriously. How do you do it? I absolutely love the espresso powder and kahlua sub and your photos. are. gorgeous. I mean, seriously.
Comment by Teanna— October 8, 2008 #
You really do have beautiful photos and all of your food looks amazing too. Very nice presentation. This was my first TWD baking experience so it’s fun to see what other people have done. I can’t wait for next Tuesday!
Comment by Becky— October 8, 2008 #
Yours really looks great!!
Comment by Amy (Sing for your supper)— October 8, 2008 #
thanks! This looks so good!!! I love brownies!
Comment by Ashley— October 8, 2008 #
Your mini cake is gorgeous! I have to agree – my cake was more cake-like than brownie-like. But good nonetheless! Love your photos.
Comment by Melissa— October 8, 2008 #
Your cake looks AMAZING. Glad to know the reduced recipe for cake and topping worked – and Kahlua – yum!
Comment by Jessica— October 8, 2008 #
The kahlua sounds wonderful and that last picture is absolutely scrumptious! Yum!
Comment by pinkstripes— October 8, 2008 #
I am so so hungry right now its not funny!! The cake looks crazy yummy! The caramel and nuts look….oh…my god *drool*….
Hehe and Marie, I thought my boyfriend was the only one who loved white chocolate and hated the real deal…. hehe ….
these pics are driving me crazy! I need some cake now!!
Comment by sandhya sethu— October 8, 2008 #
The ice cream along with it just takes it over the top. Great job!
Em
http://TheRepressedPastryChef.com
Comment by Em— October 8, 2008 #
I halved the recipe too, but I didn’t find mine particularly moist. Maybe I over-baked mine.
Comment by Mari— October 8, 2008 #
Goodness does your cake look good or what…I must get a new camera..do you have a super fancy one? Your photos always look wonderful. Great job on the cake! I thought it tasted delish..I used a fudge topping with pecans in it.
Comment by Michelle— October 8, 2008 #
I absolutely love your photos! Looks like yours turned out wonderfully delicious!
Comment by Karen— October 8, 2008 #
Could that be any more decadent?! Looks Delicious.
Comment by Camille— October 8, 2008 #
I didn’t pour it all over the cake, either. I thought it would be easier to save caramel free. Your pictures are wonderful!
Comment by pamela— October 8, 2008 #
You’re right about it tasting like a candy bar! It took me a while to figure out why this tasted so familiar before I realized that it was essentially a homemade, cakey Snickers.
Comment by Mike— October 8, 2008 #
I loved the texture of this cake and was so pleased it wasn’t a heavy brownie. Until you mentioned adding espresso powder to your cake I had completely forgotten I tossed in a tablespoon of dark rum to my cake batter. I am looking forward to seeing your future spice-ups as you draw down your inventory in preparation for your move. I made next week’s biscotti and added a garam masala spice mix that was wonderful.
Comment by Carol Peterman— October 8, 2008 #
Yes, definately a candy bar 😉 Reminded me of Dorie’s snickery squares. Great job!
Comment by Claudia— October 8, 2008 #
Your cake looks delicious!
Comment by nickki— October 8, 2008 #
yum, it looks delicious!! great idea to portion out the caramel, mine just all slid off the side of the cake 😉
Comment by kim— October 9, 2008 #
I wish I would have added espresso powder! That would have been fantastic!
Cherie
Giveaways on my blog!
http:www.craftyjuicebroker.wordpress.com
Sale in my Etsy Store!
http:www.craftyjuicebroker.etsy.com
Comment by craftyjuicebroker— October 9, 2008 #
You know, I’ve made this recipe before, and it did not look nearly as good as yours does. I think spooning the caramel and peanuts on each slice makes a huge difference.
Comment by Jenny— October 9, 2008 #
I am positively jealous of your photos! I like the idea of spooning the caramel over individual slices – the first slice I cut of mine resulted in caramel oozing and puddling on the serving tray. I wouldn’t object to that except that it meant the caramel wasn’t on top of the cake anymore!
Comment by Rhiani— October 9, 2008 #
your mini version looks so perfect! great idea spooning the topping over the cut slices…it was a bit messy otherwise
Comment by Jaime— October 9, 2008 #
Now I wish I had added the coffee to my cake. I think it would have tasted fabulous! I love the ice cream with it and the idea to pour the sauce over each slice is a smart one. Great job on this!
Comment by Gretchen Noelle— October 10, 2008 #
Espresso and Kahlua sound like great substitutions. Your cake looks delicious, as usual!
Comment by Shari— October 10, 2008 #
Holy crap! Your pictures are driving me mad!!! 😛
Comment by howtoeatacupcake— October 11, 2008 #
mhmm i love peanuts and chocolate together. that looks DIVINE! it reminds me of this peanut butter cake i made ones. i poked holes in the top and poured a chocolate peanut sauce over it. TO DIE FOR!
Comment by Joanna— October 11, 2008 #
Just wanted you to know that I love your recipes and I nominated you for an award on my blog!
Comment by Jamie— October 11, 2008 #
Great idea to add the topping on the slices. Especially if it’s not going to be eaten all at once. Your cake looks absolutely delicious!
Comment by Annette— October 12, 2008 #
Looks gorgeous:-)
X M
Comment by Matin— October 12, 2008 #
Ohhh your’s looks absolutely delicious!
Comment by Sues— October 13, 2008 #
I almost put my biscotti in a jar just like that for pictures! It looks like yours came out perfectly. Yum!
Comment by Melissa— October 15, 2008 #
Sorry – my comment went to the wrong post! 🙂
Comment by Melissa— October 15, 2008 #