Prepkitchen’s Decadent Brownie

Silky caramel layer is a yummy topper

Caramel, sea salt and pecans add to the flavor of the fudge brownie recipe from Prepkitchen. 

A year ago I ate this brownie while lunching with my foodie/ baker friend Charlotte. The restaurant is a small place called Prep Kitchen, located near the Vons in the old part of La Jolla. This was a memorable brownie... . we loved it. Here is the recipe, courtesy of the food section of San Diego Union Tribune. Try it and tell me what you think, ok?

Prepkitchen Fudge Brownies With Salted Caramel and Pecans

Yields one 9-by-13-inch pan of brownies
For the brownies:
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) butter
3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
5 large eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and chocolate in small heatproof bowl. Heat over a water bath until melted. Set aside until room temperature.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, combine eggs, brown sugar, salt and vanilla. Whip until mixture is thick and holds a ribbon with the whip.

Take bowl off mixer and pour in chocolate and sift flour over mixture. Gently fold mixture with a spatula.


For salted caramel layer:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup glucose or corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted
1 tablespoon Fleur de Sel (sea salt)

In a medium-sized saucepan combine sugar, glucose (or corn syrup) and just enough water to make the mixture the consistency of wet sand. Wipe down the insides of the pan with a wet brush so that no granules of sugar remain. Cook this mixture over high heat until it is a deep amber color.
Immediately take off heat and slowly pour cream in (mixture will bubble and expand vigorously, so use caution).

Add vanilla extract and salt. Add pecans and stir to coat with caramel. Immediately pour over brownies.

To cut, refrigerate brownies for 30 minutes so that the caramel firms up.

Nancy Mah emailed us a while back saying Prep-kitchen’s Fudge Brownies With Salted Caramel and Pecans are “to die for!”

“I have tried similar recipes found on the Internet, but they don’t compare,” she wrote. She asked if we could coax the folks at Prepkitchen into giving the recipe.

Pastry chef Jojo Rossi graciously shared her recipe for the gooey, sinful treats.

The two Prepkitchen locations are 7556 Fay Ave. in La Jolla and 1201 Camino del Mar in Del Mar.
Spread into 9-by-13-inch pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or greased with butter and then dusted with flour. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes. Brownies will still be fudgy, but the top should be shiny and cracked. Cool completely in pan.

To share or request a recipe, email food@uniontrib.com

By Chris Ross

Originally published 7:45 p.m., June 21, 2011