Mile High Twix Brownie Torte

This, my friends, is the cake I made for my birthday. And to be quite honest, it was a bit...much. Somehow I kept eating it, but every time I did I left with a stomach ache! But I think with some adaptations it would be amazing without being overkill! So I'm posting this recipe anyway. :)

We have two layers of brownies, two layers of caramel, a layer of shortbread cookie, chocolate frosting on the outside, and Twix candy bars on top. Sheesh! No wonder we had stomach aches.

Brownie Layers

2 brownie mixes+ingredients called for on boxes (Sorry, but I've yet to find a from-scratch brownie recipe that I like as well as the mixes. This is purely about taste!)

Prepare brownie batter according to directions on box. Bake each mix seperately in an 8-9 inch round pan with the bottom lined with parchment paper and the sides lightly greased.

Caramel Layers

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 stick butter

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

Combine ingredients in medium saucepan and cook to firm soft ball stage. Cool to a bit warmer than room temperature so it is still easily moldable but easy to handle.

Shortbread Layer (original recipe from Once Upon a Plate)

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1 c. flour

1/8 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. vanilla

up to 1 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt at a low speed. Add the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk only as needed to make the dough come together without being stick (you may not need any at all) The dough should come together into a soft, pliable ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough seems sticky.

Press dough into the same pan used to cook the brownies, again lining with parchment paper and spraying sides with nonstick cooking spray. Here's where I would make a change: I had twice as much dough as the recipe above and I made a pretty thick layer. If I were making this again, I would probably make the shortbread layer no more than 1/2 inch thick. Bake until top is light golden brown.

Frosting Layer (original recipe from Our Best Bites)

(this is my go-to chocolate frosting recipe)

2/3 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. flour

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 c. milk

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. chocolate chips, melted

Melt chocolate chips and set aside to cool. In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa ,and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1-3 minutes or until thickened like a thinned pudding. Remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in refrigerator or freezer. When chocolate flour mixture is cooled, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined and fluffy, about 1 minute. Finally, add in melted chocolate and beat again until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If desired, add additional cocoa powder to taste.

To Assemble

Place one brownie round on plate or cake stand. Spread a thin layer of caramel over brownies (thinner than I did below). Top with shortbread layer and spread another thin layer of caramel on top of shortbread. Place second brownie layer on top of caramel. Cover outside with chocolate frosting and top with roughly chopped Twix candy bars.