Salted Bourbon Caramel Brownie Ice-cream Sandwich

Summer is in full swing and father’s day is tomorrow. Whether you want to put together a dessert for a BBQ party in the fantastic warm weather or impress your family this Salted Bourbon Caramel Brownie Ice-cream Sandwich will do the trick. I have used good quality store-bought ice-creams and for the recipe so you just need to make the brownies and caramel. The gooey caramel oozes out as you bite into the fudgey brownie and cold ice-cream, the layers of flavours and textures are what make this treat super decadent!

Salted Bourbon Caramel Brownie Ice-cream Sandwich

Makes 10 sandwiches

Brownie

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature8 oz (225 g) chopped bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Alpaco and Tainori (half of each)

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ tsp coffee extract (optional)

¾ cup all-purpose flour 

½ tsp fine sea salt 

Salted Bourbon Caramel

½ cup granulated sugar

50 ml whipping cream 

1/3 cup unsalted butter, diced

1 tsp fine sea salt 

2 tbsp Bourbon

Assembly

1 litre vanilla and/or chocolate ice-cream

Method

For the brownie, grease and line the bottom and sides of a half sheet pan (18” x 13”) with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 F, and set a rack to the middle. 

Place the butter and chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl and set it over a small pot of simmering water. Stir the mixture every minute with a silicone spatula. Heat until the chocolate and butter has completely melted, about 5 minutes. Take the bowl off the heat and set it aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe. 

In another medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and coffee extracts until well combined. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour and salt until there is no more dryness. Pour the batter onto the prepared pan, and spread it into an even layer. Bake the brownie in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the top is no longer moist. Cool the brownie after baking, and freeze it before you assemble the sandwiches. 

For the caramel, place the sugar in a small saucepan and set it over medium high heat. The sugar will start to melt and caramelize. Refrain from stirring the sugar to avoid crystallization. Swirl the pan to caramelize the sugar evenly. When the caramel is amber in colour, take it off the heat and slowly pour in the whipping cream. Be careful as it will spatter. Stir the caramel to incorporate the cream, and return it to the stove to cook for another minute. You will see big bubbles forming when it is ready. Turn off the stove and take the pan off the heat. Cool the caramel for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the butter in 2-3 additions, making sure the butter is full incorporated before adding more. Lastly, stir in the salt and bourbon. Cool the caramel completely before using. 

To assemble, line a quarter sheet pan (13” x 9.5”) or a 13” x 9” cake pan with plastic wrap. Thaw the ice-cream for 20-30 minutes until it is spreadable consistency. Take out the frozen brownie sheet, and slice it in half widthwise. Keep the other half the freezer while you assemble. Place half of the brownie sheet onto the bottom of the prepared pan and spread the caramel in a thin layer. Place the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes to let the caramel set. Take the pan out, and spread the ice-cream onto the caramel layer. (If you are using two flavours, you need to freeze the first layer to let it set before adding the second flavour.) Take out the remaining layer from the freezer and gently push in onto the ice-cream. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer on an even shelf for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight. To slice, use a sharp knife to trim ½” off the edges, and cut into 2” x 4” bars in a 2 x 5 pattern. Serve right away or place them in the freezer immediately until enjoying. 


If you prefer an alcohol free version, simply omit the bourbon and it will be nice salted caramel. Other spirits to consider, a good whiskey, rum or even brandy would go well with a fruit ice-cream like strawberry. Matcha ice-cream would be really tasty with chocolate and caramel.

A tip for making ice-cream sandwiches is to keep your tools, brownies, and caramel cold before assembling to prevent the ice-cream from warming up too quickly. I like to even freeze my trays before starting. It seems excessive, but it will make your life a lot easier and less messy. I learned this trick when I was working for my family’s Dairy Queen restaurant once upon a time 😉

Hope you all have a great father’s day weekend, comment and tag me if you made this recipe!

Recipe also featured on:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.