Outside The Box: Caramel Swirled Coconut Brownie

I understand that some find it daunting to bake from scratch, especially if it’s your first time.  A more comfortable and creative step is to improve the boxed mixes by adding your own ingredients.  It just takes a little bit more effort to throw in some nuts, chocolate chips or even swap out the oil for applesauce.  Below is the first post in a new weekly series called Outside The Box.

This week’s recipe is Caramel Swirled Coconut Brownies.  Caramel, coconut, and chocolate: it doesn’t get better than that.

I love coconut - even more because my dad hates it.  Currently he thinks that everything I make has to have coconut in it.  This is perfect because it ensures that he won’t eat any of my brownies.  That’s fine.  More rich, chocolaty, ooey gooey perfection for me.

This is a blog for scratch baking, so the caramel is homemade. 

WARNING: When cooking sugar, be careful to not burn yourself.  If you don’t feel comfortable working with hot sugar, don’t be afraid to buy the caramel at the store.  Always remember to proceed with caution when making caramel. Wear ovenmitts or use kitchen towels to protect your hand and arms.

In my caramel recipe, I added coconut milk to get more coconut flavor into the brownies.  However, the caramel was too thin, so I had to add heavy cream and cook for about 5 minutes.   If you don’t have coconut milk, 1 cup of heavy cream should work just fine.

Caramel Recipe

Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 ounces butter
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat sugar and water over medium heat.
2. When sugar is dissolved and beginning to boil, stir or swirl pan to ensure even cooking.
3. Cook sugar until the it becomes a dark amber color, about 10 minutes.
4. Once sugar has reached the perfect color, remove from heat and stir in butter, coconut milk, and heavy cream.
5. If caramel hasn't thickened, you may need to cook over medium hear for another 5 minutes.
6. Cool caramel in an ice bath, before using in brownies.

Caramel Swirled Coconut Brownies

Yield: 9"x13" pan, about 16 squares

Ingredients:

• 1 (19.5 ounces) box brownie mix (any brand)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• Caramel sauce (from above recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9"x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.
3. To the brownie mix, add oil, water, and eggs.  Stir with wooden spoon until combined.
4. To the batter, add coconut flakes and chocolate chips.
5. Pour half of the batter into the greased pan and spoon a couple of tablespoons of caramel sauce on top.
6. Pour the rest of the batter into the pan.
7. Dollop the caramel sauce on top and using the tip of a knife, swirl the caramel into the brownie batter.
8. Bake for 28-31 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.