Despain Caramel Brownies

I hadn't made these brownies in awhile, but then made them for book club recently. They got such a good response I decided to post the recipe. I wish I had taken a picture because I think people are more likely to try the recipe if they see a picture, so just imagine an incredibly chewy brownie with a layer of caramel wedged in the middle.
As far as the name is concerned, it serves a two-fold purpose. First of all I did go out with a guy named Brennan Despain. He was a lot of fun and he was my home teacher. And these brownies are totally something you would make your cute home teacher in college.
Now the second reason for the name "Despain Caramel Brownies" is the friend I got this recipe from is Chris Despain. Chris is a girlfriend in my neighborhood who has a knack for yummy treats, so it worked out well that I could put her name in the recipe and still stay true to my naming all the recipes I put on this blog after boys I dated. You could almost consider it a "Recipe- Naming" miracle!
Despain Caramel Brownies
16 oz. caramels- that's about 2 cups for the mathematically-conversion challenged!;)
1 1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. melted butter (NOT margarine- this is really what the recipe says, but I must editoralize for a moment here... it should always, always, always be butter. It should never, ever, never, ever be margarine or whipped topping or any other genetically modified "food substitute.")
3/4 c. chocolate chips
2 German Chocolate Cake Mixes- my opinion of which brand isn't nearly as strong as my opinion of NOT margarine. So go with whatever you have on hand.
Melt caramels and 2/3c. milk on low to medium heat. Mix together cake mixes, melted butter and remaining 2/3 c. milk. Put half of the cake batter in a pan that is a little bigger than a 9 x 13 pan. (If you don't have one, I am at a lost of what you should do because I've never made them without my 10 x 14 pan. Maybe you could make a small pan in an 8 x 8 in addition to your 9 x 13. But these brownies pretty much fill up my 10 x 14 pan, so I wouldn't recommend trying to shove it into a 9 x 13 pan.) Bake this half of the mixture at 350 for 6-7 minutes. Then remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on and add melted caramel on top of chocolate chips. Then put the other 1/2 of the cake batter on top. That sounds easy enough, but there is a method to this because the cake batter won't just pour on top. What you do is take about 1/3 c. portions of the cake batter at a time and flatten it into about 1/8 inch discs. Then place these on top of the caramel. Repeat this until you have covered most of the pan. You may have a few gaps or the discs will overlap but don't let that stress you out. The brownies will puff up and cover any gaps. Bake at 350 again for 18-21 more minutes. Let cool. Then cut up and take to your favorite home teacher or neighbor or recipe blogger. Whatever....:)