Salted Caramel Brownies
I feel like a brownie is one of those bakes that never lets you down. Fudgy in the middle, that thin crackly top, and in these ones a soft layer of salted caramel rippled right through the middle of every square.
I have made a lot of brownies over the years, but the salted caramel is what takes these somewhere else. It settles into a soft ripple layer as they bake, so you can see it sitting right through the middle of the brownies as soon as you cut into them. Nothing fancy, no special equipment. Just one bowl and one tin.
And they are quick too. Everything mixes by hand in about half an hour, then they go in the oven and that is it. Warm from the tin with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is one of my favourite things about a cold afternoon.
Preparation Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Serves 16
Ingredients
Brownies
200 grams dark chocolate - broken into pieces
200 grams butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs - lightly whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Salted Caramel
3/4 cup salted caramel - see my salted caramel sauce recipe
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line an 8 inch square tin with parchment paper, leaving plenty hanging over the sides so you can lift the brownies out later.
Melt the chocolate and the butter together in the microwave until smooth. Do it in short bursts and stir in between so the chocolate does not catch.
Add the sugar, the eggs and the vanilla and mix until everything is combined.
Add the flour, the cocoa powder and the salt and mix until the batter is smooth. Stop as soon as it all comes together.
Reserve 3/4 cup of the batter and set it aside. Pour the rest into the prepared tin and level it out.
Pour the salted caramel over the batter. Dollop the reserved brownie batter on top in spoonfuls, then use a knife to swirl it through the caramel.
Bake at 180°C for 35 minutes. The middle should still have a slight wobble to it when you take it out.
Leave them to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift them out using the overhanging parchment paper. Cool for another 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
A Few Things To Remember
Do not be tempted to bake these any longer than they need. A brownie that looks completely set in the middle is usually a brownie that has already gone dry. You want the centre to still wobble slightly when you pull the tin out, and it will firm up as it cools.
The 10 minutes in the tin and the 20 minutes out of it matter more than you would think. Cut them too early and the caramel will still be hot enough to run everywhere. Wait the full time and you get clean squares with the caramel set just enough to hold.
If your salted caramel has been sitting in the fridge, warm it very slightly first so that it pours. Straight from the fridge it is too firm to swirl properly.
These keep for about 3 days in an airtight tin. To warm them through again, 10 seconds in the microwave is plenty.
An 8 inch square tin cuts into 16 squares. If you like your brownies thicker, use a 7 inch tin and give them a few extra minutes in the oven.
If you give these a go, let me know how you got on!
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