Bourbon Brownie Volcano 🌋
Double Neat Bourbon Brownies, butter-toasted on the Blackstone and buried under salted caramel whiskey “lava,” whipped cream and vanilla bean ice cream.
Sometimes a cook calls for restraint....
.....This wasn't one of those cooks. 😂
For the Great Griddle Off “Guilty Pleasure” challenge, I wanted to take something that was already indulgent and turn the dial a few clicks further.
I started with a whole Double Neat Bourbon Brownie, cut it into bite-sized cubes, and brought those pieces out to the Blackstone. Instead of simply warming them up, I melted butter on the griddle and browned the brownie pieces until they were warm and soft inside with buttery, slightly crisp edges.
Then I stacked them into a brownie volcano.
Because apparently a plate wasn't dramatic enough.
Warm salted caramel whiskey sauce became the lava, followed by whipped cream and, for the full experience, a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
The combination of hot brownie, cold ice cream, buttery edges and that salted caramel whiskey sauce made this one worthy of the name Guilty Pleasure.
The Recipe
Bourbon Brownie Volcano
Ingredients
1 Double Neat Bourbon Brownie
1–2 tbsp butter
Salted caramel whiskey sauce, warmed
Whipped cream
Vanilla bean ice cream
On the Blackstone
1. Cut the brownie.
Cut the Bourbon Brownie into bite-sized cubes. You want them large enough to stay soft in the center while developing some texture on the griddle.
2. Butter the griddle.
Preheat a section of the Blackstone over medium-low heat and melt the butter.
3. Brown the brownies.
Place the brownie cubes into the melted butter and gently toast them, turning as needed, until the outside edges are warm and lightly crisp. Don't leave them too long. We're making dessert, not brownie croutons. 😂
4. Build the volcano.
Stack the warm brownie pieces into a mound, leaving enough height and shape to give it that volcano look.
5. Add the lava.
Drizzle the warm salted caramel whiskey sauce generously over the top and let it run down through the brownie pieces.
6. Finish it.
Add whipped cream and serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
What Worked
Browning the brownies in butter was absolutely the move.
Instead of simply reheating them, the Blackstone added another texture to the dessert. The slightly crisp, buttery outside contrasted with the soft brownie center, while the warm salted caramel whiskey sauce and cold vanilla bean ice cream brought everything together.
It's one of those little techniques I'd absolutely use again.
What I'd Change Next Time
As good as the finished dessert tasted, there was one thing I missed:
More bourbon. 🥃
The bourbon flavor in the brownie itself didn't come through as strongly as I expected once everything was assembled.
Next time, I'd experiment with making a bourbon butter for browning the brownie pieces. The idea would be to cook the bourbon into the butter first, then use that mixture to toast the brownies on the griddle.
Not enough to overpower the chocolate or whiskey caramel, just enough to bring another layer of bourbon into the finished bite.
And if we're calling it a Bourbon Brownie Volcano...
I want to taste the bourbon.
The Verdict
Warm. Buttery. Chocolatey. Boozy. Crispy around the edges, soft through the middle, covered in salted caramel whiskey sauce and hit with cold vanilla bean ice cream.
Was it excessive?
Absolutely.
But when the challenge is Guilty Pleasure, I think that's kind of the point. 🌋🔥
