Butterscotch Brownie Cake

18Aug09

A few weeks ago we celebrated my friend April’s 27th birthday!  April and I have had many conversations about her past birthdays and the requirement of a chocolate chip cookie cake to make the day.  At first I thought I would just make a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough, bake it in a jelly roll pan and pipe the edges with chocolate ganache frosting.  But being the over the top individual that I am I thought that might be a little plain for my taste, ridiculous I know.  So, for the next few days I brainstormed ideas until I remembered this recipe I bookmarked in my Google reader months ago.  April loves chocolate so instead of using just butterscotch morsels I decided to mix half butterscotch and half semi-sweet morsels into the batter.  Boy did it ever exceed my expectations, it was fabulous!  Like Annie said, a little goes a long way because it is so rich.  In true April style, we had some vanilla Publix frozen yogurt to go with it!!  And yes, according to April it must be the Publix brand!  Happy 27th birthday girlfriend, here’s to a being another year older!

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
11 oz. package butterscotch morsels, divided
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

For the butterscotch ganache:
3/4 cup butterscotch morsels
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the chocolate ganache:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water

Directions:

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°.  Butter and flour the sides of two 5-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.  In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla on low until creamy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Again with the mixer on low add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.  With the mixer still running, slowly add the flour mixture just until combined.  Stir in 1/2 cup each of the butterscotch and semi-sweet morsels with a rubber spatula.  Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.  Sprinkle the tops with the remaining butterscotch and semi-sweet morsels.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer the pans to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.  Once cooled remove from pans and peel the parchment paper from the bottoms.

For the butterscotch ganache:
Place the butterscotch morsels in a small heatproof bowl.  In a small saucepan, combine the cream and butter.  Warm over medium-high heat until the mixture is almost boiling.  Pour the heated cream mixture over the butterscotch morsels.  Allow to sit for 30 seconds before stirring until smooth.

For the chocolate ganache:
Place the chopped bittersweet chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.  In a small saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, and water.  Over medium-high heat bring the mixture to a boil.  Pour the heated cream mixture over the bittersweet chocolate.  Allow to sit for 30 seconds before stirring until smooth.  Let the glaze sit approximately 15 minutes until it thickens a bit.

To assemble the cake:
Place the two brownie cakes on a wire rack the has wax paper underneath it.  Drizzle butterscotch ganache over the top of one of the layers so that is drips over the egdes.  Do the same with a small amount of the chocolate ganache over the same layer.  Place the remaining layer on top of the first.  Top with the remaining chocolate ganache so that it also drips over the edges.  Transfer the cake to a serving platter.  Decorate the top with remaining butterscotch morsels.

Source:  Bakerella, as seen on Annie Eat’s

Filed under: Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts   |  2 Comments