German Chocolate Brownies

Life in the Mochi household has been rather hectic recently. I've started an accelerated program for veterinary technicians as well as two other classes at another location, seized the opportunity to do some dog-sitting this past week, and consequently ate a lot of El Pollo Loco while feeling it wasn't worth it. I've never been good at stress and juggling so many things at once, and this blog is definitely taking a hit.

No worries, I've got some projects in the works, like umeshu/ichigoshu, and the long-awaited shiso katsuo ninniku recipe!

In the meantime, here's a quick recipe for all your summer hangouts. I made them for Mother's Day at my mom's request, but they would be a great addition for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, or any picnic or barbeque celebration. My grandpa and I both love german chocolate cake, but sometimes life is too crazy to commit to making a huge multi-layered cake, so this is a fast fix with the same flavors. The other nice thing is both the topping and the brownies can be made several days in advance.

You can even take the brownies, top them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and pour the topping over it, warm, for an amazing brownie sundae.

German Chocolate Brownies
Topping adapted from David Lebovitz

Brownies:
Use your favorite brownie recipe, or feel free to grab a boxed mix (I won't tell!), but I do suggest considering using foil to line the baking pan, so that you can just pull out the brownies and slice them easily.

If you are making this ahead of time, make sure to cover brownies tightly, you can even freeze or refrigerate brownies, but I usually just store them in a cool place away from my pooch.

Topping:
3 cups heavy cream
3 cups granulated sugar
9 large egg yolks
9 ounces butter, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cup chopped pecans
4 cups unsweetened coconut

Directions:
To toast the coconut, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread the coconut thinly on a rimmed baking sheet, and place in the oven, stirring after about 2 minutes. They will brown very quickly, after about 8-10 minutes.


Next, place the butter, salt, toasted coconut and pecans in a large heatproof bowl and set aside. Put the cream, sugar and egg yolks in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar completely dissolves and the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (Thermometer will read 170 degrees Fahrenheit). Pour the heated mixture into the large bowl with the pecans and coconuts and stir until the butter has melted. Set aside to cool, or place in the fridge until needed.

Before serving, spoon the topping on top of the brownies. Depending on how many brownies you make, you make have extra topping, but I just heap all of it on top regardless if I am making an 8x8" or a 9x13" batch.