By Tommy turns thirty-six — wait, I already did thirty-six last year. I'm thirty-six turning thirty-seven? No. Born 1982, it's 2018. I'm thirty-six. I turned thirty-six on April 22nd. Okay. Thirty-six. The numbers are getting away from me, the way Rémy gets away from Danielle at the grocery store — fast, unpredictably, and with no intention of being caught.
Birthday boil. Fifty pounds. Rémy on seasoning. Luc on heavy lifting (he's taller than Danielle now — there, I keep saying it, because it keeps being true and I keep being astonished). Colette timed the soak. Danielle supervised the guest list, which she'd capped at twenty, and which was twenty-four by 3 PM because I can't help inviting people, it's a medical condition.
Mama brought the chocolate cake again — the same cake, the same frosting, the same slightly crooked handwriting. I count on that cake the way I count on the bayou. It's always there. It always tastes the same. It always says: your mother made this, for you, because you're her son and this is what she does and she'll do it until she can't. I ate two slices. I saved the piece with my name on it and ate it at midnight, alone, on the porch, the way I eat all the most important things: quietly, in the dark, with the stars and the leftover smell of cayenne and the knowledge that I am thirty-six and my daddy made it to sixty-one and I've got time. I've got time.
The crawfish was gone by sundown, but that cake — mama’s cake — stuck with me longer than the cayenne on my fingertips. I can’t give you her recipe because she won’t give it to me, and honestly I don’t want it; some things should stay in her handwriting. But these Magical Layered Brownies come from the same place in me that midnight porch-slice comes from: chocolate so rich it makes you sit down, layers that feel like someone put time into loving you. Make them for your next birthday boil, or for a Tuesday, or for no reason at all except that you’ve got time and you might as well spend some of it on something sweet.
Magical Layered Brownies
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease.
- Make the brownie base. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder, stirring until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Build the layers. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the brownie batter, followed by the butterscotch chips, then the shredded coconut, then the chopped pecans. Do not stir — keep each layer distinct.
- Pour the condensed milk. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top of all the layers. It will settle into the gaps and bind everything together as it bakes.
- Bake. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are set and golden and the center is just barely firm. The layers will continue to set as they cool.
- Cool and slice. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before lifting out by the parchment and cutting into 16 squares. They slice cleanest when fully cooled or even slightly chilled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 320 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 41g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 95mg