I adapted this brownie recipe from Alton Brown’s Cocoa Brownie recipe. The only chocolate we will be using here is in the form of cocoa powder. I have tried many brownie recipes in the past, and I find myself constantly coming back to Alton’s recipe. I thought about how I could possibly make these brownies even more delicious, and then I noticed a can of sweetened condensed milk in my pantry. Dulce de Leche immediately came to mind, and I got down to business.

Dulce de Leche

You can buy canned Dulce de Leche, however I made mine from a can of sweetened condensed milk. I removed the wrapper from a sealed can of sweetened condensed milk, and placed it in a large pot, filled a pot and covered the can with water, until the water was about 2 inches above the can. I brung the water to a boil and then lowered the flame down to medium heat so that the can could simmer in the water for 4 hours. Make sure to check on the water periodically to make sure that there is at least an inch of water above it, adding water if necessary. After 4 hours, turn off the heat and let the can sit in the water for another hour. Remove the can from the water and let it cool at room temperature overnight. You don’t want to open the can while it is still hot because the caramel will burn you, so please let it cool for at least 12 hours.

No Leavening Agents?

As you’ll notice, this recipe does not call for any leavening agents such as baking powder and baking soda. “So how will the brownies rise?” That’s where the beating of the eggs comes in. I whipped the eggs using the whisk attachment on my KitchenAid mixer for five minutes. In this time, the eggs will become lighter in color and foamy, which will add some air to the brownies. You can do this by hand if you do not own a stand mixer, it’ll just take a little bit longer. You’ll definitely get a great arm workout out of it as well!

Don’t Over Mix the Batter!

I mix all of the ingredients together and leave the flour and cocoa powder for last so that the flour is not over mixed. The more you mix flour, the more gluten forms, resulting in a tougher brownie batter. We do not want that, so when adding the flour and cocoa powder, I mix it in the mixer until the batter starts to come together, and then finish combining by hand. I fold the mixture onto itself until there aren’t any streaks of flour left.

Marbling the Brownies

To create that beautiful marbled look, I spooned dollops of the Dulce de Leche, evenly spaced onto the brownie batter. I then used the tip of a pointy knife to swirl in the Dulce de Leche.

You can have free range here. Go crazy with it and let your creative side out. They will come out beautifully, and even if they don’t, they will still surely be delicious.

Cooling Time

These brownies take about an hour and a half to cool. I cool them for 45 minutes in the baking pan, and then I remove them from then pan by pulling on the overhanging parchment paper. I allow them to cool for another 45 minutes outside of the pan.

After they’re cooled, you can dig in! I hope you enjoy!