Whisky Brownies With Honey Caramel Centres

In anticipation of Burns Night on January 25th (Scotland's answer to the January blues - a night of poetry, whisky and feasting), I thought I would cook up some brownies infused with traditional Scottish flavours. Honey and whisky are a delicious combination, and have long been consumed for their *ahem* medicinal properties in the form of a Hot Toddy (a mixture of whisky, honey, lemon and hot water).

These rich chocolate brownie have an oozy layer of salted honey caramel in the middle. Pecans add a little crunch and the whisky leaves a warm feeling in your belly... Just the ticket for a cold winters' evening!

Step 1: The Salted Honey Caramel

You will need:

1 cup (225g) caster sugar

1/4 cup (60ml) honey

1 cup (240ml) double/heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tbsp (60g) butter, cubed

Instructions

Pour the cream into a small pan and place on a very low heat.

Place the sugar and honey in a medium sized saucepan and place on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar mixture melts and begins to boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.

Remove the pan from the heat and begin adding the butter in cubes, stirring between each addition.

When all the butter has been incorporated, remove from the heat and mix in the warmed double cream. Stir until the mixture has formed a thick caramel, and set aside.

Step 2: The Brownie Batter

You will need:

7oz (200g) dark chocolate (get the best quality you can afford, you can really taste the difference!)

1/2 cup (125g) unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup (120g) caster sugar

1/2 cup (120g) brown sugar

4 1/2 tbsp (75ml) whisky

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (175g) plain flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

150g pecans, mostly chopped but save a few halves for decoration

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 170C (fan assisted)/325F/gas mark 3. Line a 25cm square cake tin with foil.

In a medium sized saucepan over a very low heat, melt the chocolate with the butter, then set aside. Don't be impatient like me and burn the chocolate first time around...in the wise words of Mary Berry, "chocolate will melt in a child's pocket!"

Beat the eggs with the sugars until the mixture forms a creamy texture. Next, beat in the chocolate and butter until evenly combined, then beat in the whisky and vanilla essence. Sift the flour and cocoa, then beat this into the chocolate mixture. Finally, mix in the chopped pecans, remembering to save a few for decoration.

Scrape half of the mixture into the prepared cake tin (if you want to be precise you can weigh your batter before and during this stage!).

Step 3: Layering the Mixes

Scrape half of the mixture into the prepared cake tin (if you want to be precise you can weigh your batter before and during this stage!).

Pour a layer of honey caramel over the batter, saving some sauce for decorating the top of the brownies. Top with the remaining batter and then scatter the pecan halves. Lastly, drizzle the honey caramel over the top of the brownies in a zig-zag pattern.

Bake for 25 minutes, then let the brownies cool in the pan.