Sponge Toffee Fudge Brownies

When you make a spectacular sponge toffee candy, you have to chop it up into what’s basically a golden dust and then sprinkle it over top of The World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie.

I made the Hokey Pokey Dark Chocolate Sponge Toffee a couple of months back and thankfully had the foresight to plan for this auspicious occasion. I kept a small stash of the golden crunchy goodness in a Ziploc bag, all chopped up to hell, with little pieces and flakes and dusty bits of its cooked sugariness waiting in the freezer to be brought back to life on a brownie. This day has come.

You know I need zero excuses to modify and manipulate and magnanamize my brownie. I always love every twist on the classic (well, The Husband spat out my version with chocolate covered raisins in it a few years back, so that one wasn’t a hit, but other than that I’ll add anything to these brownies and confidently call it a success). But this powdered gold- let me tell you. I grew up loving Crunchie bars (in Canada; not to be found in the US of A), and when I made my own version it was like a cloud opened up above me. I knew that the brownie needed this as its next version. So here you have it- it’s not for the faint of heart (and you do need a bit of time to make the hokey pokey), so get ready. There’s no looking back.

Adapted from my World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie and Hokey Pokey Dark Chocolate Sponge Toffee recipes…

4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate (the better the chocolate, the better the brownie)

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla (use the real stuff)

3 lightly beaten eggs

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Optional: 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate (chips or finely chopped up bits off a block)

3/4 cup sponge toffee, chopped into little bits
1. Make Hokey Pokey Dark Chocolate Sponge Toffee without the chocolate drizzle on top (or purchase from a candy store, or chop up Crunchie bars). Chop finely and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9 x 9 foil-lined pan.
3. Melt chocolate & butter in microwave for 2:15 minutes and stir.
4. Stir in sugar, then vanilla, then eggs, then salt, espresso powder (optional) & flour.
5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 – 33 minutes (until center is just set). Turn oven off.
6. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate bits overtop. Place back in oven for 2 minutes, then remove pan from oven and spread chocolate (which will be nicely melted) with an offset spatula until chocolate evenly coats surface of brownies. Immediately sprinkle sponge toffee bits and dust over chocolate.
7. Cool & cut into squares.
8. Indulge.
Tips:
- Want to make it in a 9 x 13 pan instead? Good idea… less time till they’re done. Just decrease the bake time to 28 minutes.
- When cutting the sponge toffee, don’t throw out the dust! Use it along with the little bits. It’s so so so tasty and probably worth more than gold anyway.
- The toffee might lose its ‘crunch’, but that’s okay because the flavor will still knock your socks off.
- Cut the bars when they are chilled but not TOO cold… or the chocolate will crack on top. I did that and knew I should have waited a bit before cutting. Too impatient.
- Enjoy!
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January 17th, 2015 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Brownies & Bars, Toffee, World's Best