When I was a kid, a friend of mine with an American dad would sometimes (if it was a special occasion) have a cake he called ‘whisky barrel’ in the house. A fudgy but super-light, dark chocolate sponge, layered with a caramel filling, chopped nuts, and lashings of whisky (which we probably shouldn’t have been eating, but it was the early 90s when it felt like anything went).
This recipe is a nostalgic nod to that time, but in brownie form, each bite swirled with caramel infused with Lidl’s Great British Food Award-winning Ben Bracken whisky. These are very impressive around Bonfire Night if you use an Islay whisky, infusing those peaty/smoky notes into the chocolate.
Don’t miss out the spoonful of coffee granules. They enhance the chocolate flavour. You can use decaf or barley cup instead if you like. And don’t be tempted to use brown sugar for the caramel. It’s harder to tell if the sugar has caramelised, and it’s more acidic, so would give your sauce a sharp/sourish flavour.
Ingredients (makes around 10-12 depending on how you cut them)
For the caramel:
200g granulated sugar
50g unsalted butter
150ml double cream
Splash vanilla extract
4tbsps whisky
1/4tsp salt
For the brownies:
185g unsalted butter
200g good quality dark chocolate (ideally 70-85%)
85g plain white flour
2 medium eggs
200g light brown sugar
75g dark brown sugar
40g cocoa powder
1 tsp instant coffee granules
½ tsp sea salt flakes
75g walnuts
Method
1. Make the caramel first. Warm the sugar with a large splash of water over a low heat and do not touch it! Allow the sugar to melt. The best way is to put a lid on – the condensation will prevent it crystallising. Once you can see all the sugar has dissolved fully (use a wet pastry brush to dab any crystals on the edge of the pan) turn up the heat and cook until it’s a rich, deep caramel colour. Take off the heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine, then return to the hob and cook on a low to medium heat (stirring all the time) until very thick, like a soft liquid fudge. Set aside.
2. For the brownies, line a brownie pan and heat the oven to 180C.
3. Melt the butter, sugars and chocolate together and allow to cool. Lightly beat in the eggs, flour, cocoa and salt.
4. Pour into your pan and spoon over around half of the caramel mixture (the rest can be reheated as a sauce to serve later). Use a skewer to swirl the caramel into the brownie batter, so there are pockets of it throughout. Roughly chop the walnuts and sprinkle over, pressing lightly into the mixture.
5. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is set and crusty. Allow to cool completely (you might want to pop it in the fridge) then cut into squares and dive in.
