My Birthday AKA Vegan Brownie Domination

My birthday is nearing...ok in a little over a month! But still, soon to be 32 year olds having the best year of their lives have to plan early for celebrations. Opening my beloved POPshop & Spazz Records has reset my priorities a lot, which means that I am feeling very appreciative of the chance to get to eat out at a favorite restaurant with my favorite people.

 Maybe we'll do costumes... :P

I am totally excited that I got a new birthday party dress..thrifty thrift thrift for $6.99. Mine is minus the bow, but this nice mocha color, and is selling for $135 from the designer. I LOVE thrifting!

Here will be my nose jewelry ( just 1!):

I was at home on my new favorite day, Mondays- my day off!, and my fave, Giada came on, giving me an idea for the cake portion of my birthday party. I have established my admiration for Giada before, so I won't go into that...onto the birthday cake plan!

She made Frozen Brownie Sundaes- YUM.

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients



Brownie layer:


Vegetable oil cooking spray


2 tablespoons water


1/4 cup vegetable oil


1 large egg, at room temperature


1 3/4 cups brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge)


1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips


2 (1.4-ounce) milk chocolate-toffee candy bars, coarsely chopped (recommended: Heath or Skor)


Ice cream layer:


1 pint dulche de leche or caramel ice cream (recommended: Haagen-Dazs), softened


Chocolate layer:


1/3 cup heavy whipping cream


1 3/4 cups milk chocolate chips


Sauce:


1 (12-ounce) bag frozen strawberries, thawed


1/3 cup powdered sugar


1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice


Directions


Brownie layer: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 by 8-inch glass baking pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches of paper to overhang the sides. Set aside. Spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil cooking spray.

 In a large bowl mix together the water, oil and egg. Add the brownie mix and stir until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and candy bar pieces. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool the brownie layer completely in the pan, about 1 1/2 hours.






Ice cream layer: Using a spatula, spread the softened ice cream on top of the brownie layer and freeze until firm, about 4 hours or overnight.






Chocolate layer: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium-low heat until hot but not boiling. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate mixture over the ice cream layer. Freeze for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.






Sauce: Put the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth.






To serve: Remove the layers from the pan and peel away the parchment paper. Cut the layers into squares and drizzle with the strawberry sauce.






Notes


For a smoother sauce, strain the sauce through a sieve and discard the seeds.

I will be veganizing the crap outta these things, and I know they will rock. Yay! Updates later!

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