Browned Butter Brownies with Vanilla Bean German Chocolate Frosting and Dark Chocolate Chunks

Browned Butter Brownies - try saying that three times fast.  I did - talk about being tongue tied, it wasn't pretty!  I must be loco for attempting this recipe during Lent, since I decided to give up sweets, including chocolate (gasp - I admit that I indulge in a little - ok, sometimes not so little, dark chocolate almost every day).  Well that's the point isn't it - it's not supposed to be easy!   I'll have to give away these devilish little treats pronto.

This is a different spin on German chocolate cake - anything with chocolate, pecans and more chocolate has to be a winner.  I switched up my favorite basic brownie recipe by using browned butter, and added some whipping cream, vanilla bean and dark chocolate chunks to the coconut frosting.

 I actually goofed and didn't realize all I had was 2% evaporated milk on hand - oops, a potential kitchen disaster in the making! Fearless baker that I am, it dawned on me to sub whipping cream for half of the evaporated milk (mostly because it happened to be in the fridge, and  it's just so darn yummy anyway).  How could it go wrong? Well, trust me, I've had my share of kitchen nightmares taking this approach, but I'd rather try it - you never know when you might come up with something delish.  This combo turned out wonderfully rich!   The vanilla bean gave it that extra oomph, plus the chunks of dark chocolate put it over the top.  Hope you enjoy it!

RECIPE