Gerard's White Chocolate Brownie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan.

Use a double boiler to slowly melt together butter and white chocolate.

In large bowl of electric mixer, stir together flour, sugar and salt. With mixer at low speed, beat in white-chocolate mixture, then eggs and half-and-half; beat just until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 325 degrees F and bake about 12 minutes more, until lightly browned and set in center.

Let cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Turn out onto a cutting board or cake rack; let cool completely. Trim off brown edges; cut remainder into 12 pieces.

To serve: Arrange brownie on a plate; top with vanilla ice cream, white-chocolate sauce and caramel sauce.

WHITE-CHOCOLATE SAUCE: Melt all ingredients together in a double boiler or at low power in a microwave; stir until smooth. (Sauce is thin.)

cook's notes

The restaurant makes caramel sauce from 4 cups granulated sugar and 8 cups water, cooking the mixture with the skill of a confectioner for 90 minutes or longer. Herron suggests that home cooks substitute purchased ice cream topping.