There’s a little place my family likes to get a quick bite to eat sometimes called Cafe Zupas. They have a really nice variety of house-made soups, salads and sandwiches and a pretty little dessert case strategically placed right by the register. I’m not usually such a softy, but last time I was there with the boys I ordered a really decadent looking brownie for us to share. It was really rich and fudgy, with a layer of caramel and pecans. Kind of wished I didn’t have to share!
And then all of the sudden I realized that I only have one brownie recipe here on LLK and thought this might be a good time to do something about that. I’ve always been a box mix brownie kind of girl (and no shame there) but love it when I can make a really crazy good dessert with ingredients I already have on hand. Every other homemade brownie recipes I have tried tastes more like chocolate cake to me. So I found a new favorite recipe for homemade brownies (which tastes like a brownie and not chocolate cake) and then elevated them to the next level, Cafe Zupas style.
Then I thought they were begging for a scoop of ice cream and a little drizzle of caramel just to seal the deal. Wowzers. My sweet/fat tooth is doing summersaults as I write this post and stare at theses pics! I did use a store-bought caramel topping in these because I just wasn’t feeling patient enough to make my own, but next time I make these, if I’m feeling ambitious, I’m going to get the old candy thermometer out and see what I can do. Can you even imagine how good that would be? I can’t even.
So if you are in the mood for an over-the-top brownie experience, and want a chocolate fix that should last about a month, you’ve come to the right place my friend!
Copycat Zupas Rockslide Brownies
If you are in the mood for an over-the-top brownie experience, and want a chocolate fix that should last about a month, you’ve come to the right place.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (plus more for drizzling over the top) caramel topping
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans (plus more for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in sugar. Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the pan, and mix until just incorporated.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter, dividing evenly into two 9 by 9 inch baking pans, sprayed with nonstick spray and lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes, and the let cool completely.
- Remove the whole brownie from one of the pans using the parchment paper edges to lift it out, and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Pour 1 cup of caramel topping over the brownies that are still in the pan, and then add chopped pecans and brownie cubes.
- Press down to help the brownie cubes stick to the caramel. Drizzle with additional caramel if desired and sprinkle with a few more chopped pecans.
- I found it easier to cut the brownies when they were chilled, so I kept them in the fridge until I was ready to serve them. Serve with ice cream and additional caramel and chopped pecans if desired.
Notes
Brownie recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Brownie
- Calories: 488
- Sugar: 53g
- Sodium: 369mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10.6g
- Trans Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 65g
- Fiber: 2.3g
- Protein: 5.5g
- Cholesterol: 103mg
hhhmmmm….im speechless…must try asap…looks divine!!
haha! Hope you enjoy them like I did!
These brownies look spectacular! Would love to eat one right now!
Thanks Christina, me too!
Wowzers Julie!!! This looks crazy good. Oh how I miss Zupas!! Tell them to get over here in CA 🙂
Thanks Karen! I will certainly tell them!
Whoa Julie. This looks delicious and so gooey. Brownies and ice cream are a combo made in foodie heaven.
Amen to that Kathy! Thanks for stopping by!
Brownies are one of my favorite desserts! It looks so good Julie! I’ve been using the same recipe for years (although I have about a million more :))
Oh God, these should be forbidden! They look insane!
Soo Yummy 🙂 This is my holiday Food
These were a hit at my family dinner tonight! Tasted just like the originals! 😍