Congratulations Tracey Rigden for winning Recipe to Riches Cookies and Squares category with her PC Salt-Kissed Dulce de Leche Brownie.
I love that they included her love of sci-fi and fantasy in the marketing of this product since she is a self-admitted geek. I think Tracey and I would hit it off so I hope to do an interview with her soon. Let me know if you have any questions for her!
The Product
This is what you get when you open the box. A nice heavy square of layers of chocolate and Dulce de Leche.
If you missed the episode, you can watch it here (if you are in Canada). For those who saw the episode, well, pretty much everything that competing had a meltdown. I was pretty confident that these brownies would be more up to Tracey’s standards.
I was a tad worried about just how much salt there was sprinkled liberally on top but then I remembered all that luscious Dulce de Leche underneath, not to mention all that chocolate flavour!
This is a frozen product so make sure to let it thaw in the fridge for a few hours and then let it sit at room temperature for around an hour.
The brownies sliced quite easily but I did notice that the top layer of ganache was far from being truffle-soft. It was a tad crunchy.
Foodie Conclusion
The brownie was a little more structured and less fudge-y than I was hoping for. Then I said to myself, stop analyzing the damn brownie and just eat it. The foodie conclusion? Genius!
This is a decadent brownie with lots of sweetness and the salt really does work to cut it to make it quite heavenly and surprising. The different textures in the three layers give the brownie structure and a cohesion that brings everything together without making one big mess.
I loved it. Reg loved it (I was convinced her was going to find it too sweet but that salt… really works). Our friends loved it.
This is not your ordinary brownie. I usually hate store-bought brownies but this is a winner. Please note though that it is also more expensive than your usual product: $8.99. Not for every day but for special guests or a special “out-of-this-world” treat? Absolutely. I give this product four and a half out of five wooden spoons.
The Show
We had one winner, one wipe out and another winner so far. It will be fascinating to see what comes next! BTW, here is the original brownie recipe and if you are looking for more, here are all the season 2 recipes.
I must admit I was fascinated with the competing Mahbooz Date Cookies, I just think they were in the wrong category. I have printed the recipe up and hope to make them soon!
One thing I am not happy with the show about is their use of women as “eye candy” for promoting the food: cheerleaders, belly dancers, show girls. I think this cheapens the show dramatically and to be honest, pisses me off. I hope they stop being so sexist and that the marketing companies begin to be more creative and contemporary. Such a cliche and totally unnecessary.
Love her Crocs, LOL!