Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Caramel Sauce

I decided to make these for my housemate's 20th birthday, as my other housemate had made cupcakes for him. These definitely went down a treat and everyone loved them, especially when they found a chunk of chocolate in them!

- 160g of butter

- 500g caster sugar

- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 125g self-raising flour

- 175g cocoa powder

- Bar of chocolate or chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave, in short 30 second bursts (you don't want it to burn!)

3. Add the sugar, the eggs and vanilla extract, then whisk.
4. Sift the flour and cocoa powder in and mix.
5. Break up the bar of chocolate. I like to break it into squares, then put them a sandwich bag and whack them with a rolling pin until they are in little pieces. Then mix them into the brownie batter.
6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, so that they are 2/3 full.
7. Cook them in the oven for 20-25 minutes. You want the insides to be all fudgey and the outside to be crispy.

When they are done in the oven, leave them to cool and then top them with my easy caramel sauce.
You could then grate some chocolate over them as a nice finishing touch!

Zoe x

Cookie Dough Brownies

Ben & Jerry's definitely got something right with their Half Baked ice cream. Cookie dough and brownie are so good together!

This recipe might seem a little scary because it has so many steps, but it is very easy!

Gooey in the middle!

Now I may have cheated slightly and made a brownie from a packet mix. Its so much quicker, easier, its probably cheaper and you know its going to work out well! I used Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge Brownie mix, because it honestly is the most amazing brownie I have ever had! I cooked mine for 30 minutes, rather than the suggested 35-40 minutes, so that it was still a bit gooey in the middle - the way a brownie should be! I only make it when I am at home in Dubai (I'm there now!), but I do make brownies from scratch when I am in Cardiff.

Brownie:

- 100g unsweetened dark chocolate
- 250g butter, melted
- 440g soft brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 125g all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Use a brownie tin that is 22x33 centimeters (9x11 inches) and grease it. You can grease the tin with a bit of butter or vegetable oil, and spread it around with some kitchen paper.
2. Chop up the chocolate and melt it in a glass bowl in a microwave. Melt it in short 30 second bursts, so you don't burn the chocolate.
3. Stir the melted butter and sugar together.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk them in. Add the vanilla extract.
5. Mix in the melted chocolate.
6. Next add the flour, and mix it until it is just combined. Lumps are good here.
7. Pour the batter into the tin and cook in the oven for 30 minutes. To test if it is cooked, use a toothpick and insert it into the middle of the brownie. You want it to come out clean. If it comes out with brownie batter on the end, cook it for a few more minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

Cookie Dough:

- 170g butter

- 150g soft brown sugar

- 125g white sugar (use granulated sugar if you want more of a crunch, or caster sugar if you want it to be a bit smoother)

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 200g all-purpose flour

- 2 tbsp milk

- 140g chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinkling

1. Cream the butter.

2. Add the two sugars, vanilla extract and milk.

3. Carefully add the flour. You might want to test spreading a bit of the cookie dough onto the brownie, to make sure it sticks. Mine didn't at first, so I had to add milk to the recipe. If yours doesn't stick, add a little bit more milk.

4. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Spread the cookie dough over the cooled brownie. I didn't use all of the cookie dough, I thought I had enough on my brownies. I think I had a good cookie dough-to-brownie ratio!

6. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top! You can even make a glaze to go over the top, by melting about 90g of chocolate chips with 1 tsp of butter, drizzle it over the top, then sprinkle the extra chocolate chips over the top.

Someone couldn't resist!

I think there are only a few pieces left now!

You can freeze the cookie dough brownie pieces for up to 3 months in the freezer if you can't eat it all in one go.

Zoe x