I went to college in a super small town called Stevens Point, WI. On any given day the most exciting things to do included trips to Perkins Family Restaurant, hikes through the campus nature reserve, and during the warmer months, visits to a place called Belts. I was a brand new freshman when I was first introduced to it and it was my absolute favorite place to go to all four years. What was Belts you may ask? Well I’ll tell ya- it was probably the best little Ice Cream stand I’ve ever been to. Freshly churned soft-serve meets made-from scratch baked good mix-ins. It was sweet tooth heaven. Especially when I discovered my favorite thing ever. It was called the “Banana Foster Brownie Concrete” and it consisted of Vanilla soft serve, swirled with caramel sauce. chunks of fresh banana and gooey brownie bits. So freakin’ good.
Ever since then, I’ve been obsessed with mixing those three things. I made a version of this brownie a long time ago, and though it was great, I felt like it could still be better. I knew I needed a thicker caramel sauce and a fudgier brownie. Topped with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream it may or may not fill the void I’ve been missing since college. (I had every intention of making sundaes out of these brownies but my sisters and friends ate them too quickly.)
It’s interesting how these brownies come together. Both times I layered the pan like so: Banana Cake Batter, Caramel layer, Brownie Batter. Both times the caramel soaked into the cake and made it taste better. In this case- the banana layer bubbled up and around the other layers, making it all swirled and pretty. The caramel made the brownie part almost fudge like. I always think I’ll get three distinct layers, but I think that’s still a work in progress. Needless to say- they were by far the best brownies I’ve made. Every piece was different as the three layers were swirled throughout and you never really knew what you were going to get in each bite. As my friend Sam said while eating his third, “You know Audra, I’m super happy for you, but anyone can get engaged….I think this brownie is the real reason to congratulate you.” :) Yeah they’re real good.
PS- I’m going to try on a wedding dress today. Because you know what? I never have before. And now I can. I can also read Wedding magazines without feeling weird that I wasn’t wearing a ring. (but I totally used to read them anyway!)
If you don't want to make homemade caramel, just use store bought ones melted on the stovetop with ⅓ cup heavy cream.
movita beaucoup says
Congrats on the wedding, and more importantly, the brownie. Perfection on both fronts…
(And: yum!)
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
What a divine looking brownie. Have fun trying on wedding dresses without being shy about it!
Kiri W. says
I have to say, I’ve never had banana brownies, but it sounds like a completely heavenly combination, especially with caramel! I’m slovering over here…
Kelly | Eat Yourself Skinny says
Wow these look absolutely delicious and I LOVE your new blog design!! Amazing!! :)
Julia at Cafe Lula says
Woah. They look amazing and I have overripe bananas at home :D seems like I have no choice but to make these. Shame that :)
Lisa @ TequilaCupcakes says
Congratulations on the engagement! (I got engaged over the summer… and have yet to try on a dress :) these brownies look amazing!
nicole {sweet peony} says
oh my gosh have so much fun trying on wedding dresses! that was one of my favorite parts of wedding planning. and i was told, don’t end the day decided on one… whichever one you end up dreaming about is *the one*. sure enough i dreamed about which one would be mine :)
anyways, your brownies sound deeelish! can’t wait to give these a try!
Tina says
That must have been some place for you to remember that special ice cream. Cool that it has motivated you after all this time. The way the ingredients come together when baking sounds pretty cool, making each bite a different revelation of flavor. This one is a keeper.
Have fun trying dresses and make sure to go with someone that brings a camera-sometimes it can get so hectic it is hard to remember which one you liked the best.
Emily says
I read wedding magazines with friends for years before I was engaged. The dresses never get old. I hope you have fun. And these brownies look to die for…great experiment.
BigFatBaker says
This sounds like an amazing little ice cream place! And that sounds like a deadly combo.. banana, caramel, and chocolate?! I’ll take 2 please :)
warmvanillasugar says
These are lovely. Even though chocolate and banana is an awesome flavour combination, I’ve never thought to add banana to brownies! Yum!
Sandra says
Congratulations! I hope you don’t mind if I blame any weight I gain after eating these brownies on you!
Amalia says
A thicker caramel sauce and a fudgier brownie? Yes please! These look amazing! And served with some vanilla ice cream sounds perfect to me. Great recipe, I like how you went even farther and made a better version of your take 1 banana caramel brownies :)
Kim Bee says
These look absolutely amazing, so moist I can barely stand it. Have a good time trying on wedding dresses. It is so much fun!
Lindselicious says
There is nothing I do not like about these! YUM! I love going with my friends wedding dress shopping- so fun!
Donna says
Have fun with the wedding dress try-ons…and I loved your story about the little out of the way ice cream shop…there are so many of them in Oregon…By the way…Do YOU have a recipe for homemade vanilla soft-serve…Currently living in Europe..this is one of those things I miss most about the U.S.!!!..Thank you for such a magnificent blog and for providing us with such culinary enlightenment when ideas are lacking!!!
Grubarazzi says
This is a great flavor combination, and your description of the layers made my mouth water. Delish.
Beth Michelle says
I think every girl secretly read wedding magazines before she was engaged! Have fun trying on wedding dresses :)
These brownies arent even fair. Its like if you make them, no other brownie will ever live up to it. So yummy!
Sandra says
So moist, so beautiful..it looks like it would melt in the mouth!!!!
Beatricelovecats says
how can i stop my binge?
Lynnstubbe says
I am from SP! Love Belts, I usually get the turtle sundae, but am inspired to try something new on my annual pilgrimage next summer!
Audra says
Yay Point!! Yes Belts is amazing- you have to try the Banana Foster Brownie Sundae. I have dreams about it!