TWD Caramel Macadamia Nut Brownie Cake

This week's TWD was chosen by Tammy of Wee Treat by Tammy. I almost backed out of this week's baking because things have been so hectic around here... But, by 4 year old son was BEGGING for brownies tonight, so I thought, well, I'll just bake these real quick. (Plus, I was out of town last week, and haven't participated in two weeks)

I glanced through the ingredients and was pretty sure I had them all. First thing I realized I didn't have was bittersweet chocolate, so I substituted 1 oz of unsweetened and 3 oz semi sweet.

Brown sugar....uh, none. So I was sure there was an easy way to substitute that, so I googled it quick and found you could use white sugar and molasses. I happened to have molasses on hand because I bought it not too long ago for a recipe, which I never made. I think I do that a lot. Anyways, brown sugar delema was solved.

Then, I was just SURE I had light corn syrup....NOPE! I always have it on stock for scotcheroos! So I replaced that with some dark corn syrup I just happened to find clear back in the pantry.

So, at this point, I am thinking, "This recipe is going to just flop, I know it!" But I carried on because I had a very excited little 4 year old helper in the kitchen with me who was happy to be making brownies with mommy!

Oh, yeah, and finally, I had tossed my cheap springform pan I had because it was one, cheap, and two, started to peel. Yuck, I know. CHEAP! So I used my stoneware baking dish from Pampered Chef! Can't go wrong there! Plus, my son was so determined to have brownies, if I made it look like a brownie "cake", he woudl have a fit. He immediately corrected me when I told me 10 year old that we were making brownie cake. "No...mommy, we are making brownies, not cake!"

The cake turned out perfect! And in a lot less time then it called for! As you can see, my son wanted his brownie as soon as it came out of the oven. He wouldn't want all the extra goo on his 'brownie' anyways.
My attempt with the caramel didn't go so well. I just couldn't get the caramel to darken, and I was so afraid I'd scald the stuff! So after nearly 15-20 minutes on the stove, I gave in and added the cream and butter. It still tasted alright!
I did have peanuts, but they were all UNSALTED....and since the recipe called for salted, I kept digging. I came across a can of macadamia nuts. Hmmmm, macadamia nuts it is! And Yum-o!
Due to a missing 'brownie' from my pan, I ended up with a caramel waterfall...
But, the overall result was amazing! I'm sure that if my caramel would have actually turned out to be caramel, that this would have been even more amazing, but nonetheless, it was very good! I may attempt this again, when I have all the correct ingredients! Now, what to do with all these brownies!!!