Toffee Bar Brownie Torte
Why I Love This Recipe
A 4 layer brownie torte filled with a rich mascarpone-espresso frosting and covered in toffee bars.
Ingredients You'll Need
For the brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
12 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
For the frosting:
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water, chilled
For the filling:
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 Tbsp instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup reserved frosting (above)
For the garnish:
1 cup chopped fun-sized toffee bars
Directions
To make the brownie layers: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour the edges of 4 6-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring until melted and smooth.
Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and glossy, about 1 minute.
Stir in the flour and salt, and mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared baking pans. Gently smooth the batter in the pans.
Bake 20-25 minutes, until the brownies are just firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pans 30 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge of each pan and invert the brownies onto the rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting: Add the chilled heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until medium-soft peaks form.
Blend in the sugar, vanilla and espresso mixture, whipping just until combine. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
Reserve and refrigerate 1/2 cup of the frosting for use in the filling. Set aside the rest of the frosting.
To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the mascarpone, espresso liquid, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat on medium speed until well blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gently fold in the reserved frosting with a spatula.
To assemble the torte: Lay 1 of the brownie rounds to a large serving platter. Spread 1/3 of the filling mixture evenly over the top.
Repeat with the remaining three brownie rounds two layers of filling.
Cover the top and sides of the cake with the frosting. Garnish with the toffee bits to cover the top and sides of the cake.
Use any remaining frosting to pipe decorative swirls around the top edge of the cake, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.