These are not your everyday brownies. They are rich, fudgey, and salty with a layer of baked caramel, plus more caramel drizzled on top. All this in one bite! What is not to love? {Besides the calories, of course.} They are made with dark chocolate which gives them a nice deep flavor. Warning: The experience is a bit intense. The salty and sugary topping is definitely bold, but delicious. You just have to try these.
In addition to the brownie as a whole, I fell in love with the caramel sauce. It’s made with fleur de sel, pure vanilla extract, and sour cream. As soon as I tested the caramel for taste, I couldn’t keep myself out of it… just a little snitch here and there! I’m definitely going to make this caramel sauce by itself to serve over ice cream.
Salty Caramel Brownies {print recipe}
Caramel:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp fleur de sel
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup light sour cream
Brownie Batter:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
11-ounces quality dark chocolate {60-72%}, coarsely chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping:
1 teaspoon fleur de sel*
1 teaspoon coarse sugar
For the caramel, combine the sugar and corn syrup with 1/4 cup water in a medium sauce pan {make sure the pan is large enough because the mixture will bubble up vigorously when the cream is added}. Stir together gently, being careful not to splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat, until a thermometer reads 345 degrees and is dark amber in color. {Do not let it reach 350 degrees or it will burn.} Remove from the heat and while whisking, slowly add the cream. {Wear a heat glove to protect your hand because it will get very hot as the mixture bubbles.} Next, add in the fleur de sel and vanilla. Whisk in the sour cream. Set aside to cool and reserve 1/4 cup in a separate bowl.
For the batter, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the parchment.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt and cocoa powder. Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water. Whisk in both sugars until completely combined. Remove bowl from pan.
Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until incorporated. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey. Add the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients until there is just a trace of the flour mixture remaining.
To assemble the brownies, pour half of the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Gently drizzle the caramel sauce over the batter, trying to stay away from the edges. Gently spread the caramel sauce as evenly as possible. In heaping spoonfuls, scoop the remaining batter over the caramel layer. Smooth the brownie batter gently over the caramel.
Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove the brownies from the oven and sprinkle with the fleur de sel and the coarse sugar. Cool completely and drizzle with reserved 1/4 cup of caramel before serving.
Recipe is adapted from Bake at 350, originally from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.
