Dessert Recipes using evaporated milk

Goodness. You have to try these.

Here’s how it shakes out. Several weeks ago, I was gifted with a tin of brownies. To be specific: Killer Brownies from Dorothy Lane Market in Dayton, Ohio. There were four substantially-sized brownies in the tin, and each brownie was coated generously with a sifting of powdered sugar. But they weren’t just any brownies: they were multilayered, with a gorgeous caramel oozing out of the center layer. And the flavor. To die for. I ate them over the period of several days, more despondent with each bite that I was one step closer to being without them. And I didn’t ever want to be without them again.

They’re one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.

While an official recipe for the Killer Brownies is not available, the classic layered brownie recipe known as “Knock You Naked Brownies” is rumored to be a pretty good match.

I decided to whip up a batch over the weekend and see if they measured up. I’d never tried them before.

It was all in the name of research, of course.

Start by dumping this into a large mixing bowl.

What’s “this” you ask?

It’s German Chocolate cake mix.

Not Devil’s Food.

Not Chocolate Fudge.

German Chocolate.

And if you’re not a cake mix person, don’t worry: because of the way the ingredients are combined, the end result just doesn’t have a box mix flavor. Promise.

Finely chop up some pecans.

You’ll need about a cup of chopped nuts, which you’ll remember is quite different from a cup of nuts, chopped.

You’ll also need some melted butter…

And some evaporated milk.

Pour the evaporated milk over the cake mix.

Then add the butter…

And the nuts.

Stir together until totally combined. It’ll be very, very thick–not at all like cake batter. More like a thick cookie dough.

Spray a square (either 8 x 8 or 9 x 9) baking pan very generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Divide the dough in half…