Brownie with Salty Caramel

About this recipe

You can please everyone with a piece of brownie (or else they're just weird) – with or without extra salty caramel on top! I make this recipe in a baking dish measuring about 30 by 20 cm, so be sure to adjust the quantities if you want to bake a larger one (which I totally understand).

by @baking - Feel free to contact me via Instagram or Facebook.

Ingredients

for the brownie

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 200 g good butter
• 130 g cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs
• optional: handful of walnuts

for the salty caramel

• 150 g good butter
• 200 g light brown sugar or cassonade
• 165 g cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• coarse sea salt

Preparation

for the brownie

1. Preheat your oven to around 200°C without a flame.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
3. Mix the sugar with the eggs, and add this to the butter mixture.
4. Fold 2 tablespoons of flour into the batter. If you like chocolate with nuts, you can now chop a handful of walnuts coarsely and add them to the batter.
5. Take your baking dish or pan and line it with parchment paper to ensure a happy ending (instead of seeing half of your brownie stick to the pan). Pour the batter onto the parchment paper and spread evenly in the pan.
6. If you feel that the glowing coals are still giving off a lot of heat, you can always play it safe by covering the mold with aluminum foil.
7. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Turn it 180° halfway through.
8. Would you like an extra layer of (salty) caramel? Then you can prepare it in the meantime.
9. If not, remove the dish from the oven after baking and allow it to cool sufficiently before removing the brownie from the tin. This will prevent your masterpiece from breaking into pieces.

for the salty caramel

1. Take a saucepan and melt the butter.
2. Then add the sugar and continue stirring until it is absorbed into the butter.
3. Add the cream and stir until you obtain a smooth mixture (this may take a while).
4. Set a timer when the mixture begins to boil, and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the vanilla extract and stir until you achieve the desired thickness. If you like a salty taste, add sea salt to taste (be careful not to add too much) – or save the salt for the next step.
6. Allow the caramel, whether salty or unsalted, to cool slightly, then pour it generously in slow motion over your wood-fired brownie. If you like, you can now sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt over the caramel.
7. Allow to cool sufficiently until both the chocolate and caramel have set nicely (you can even put them in the fridge for that creamy fudge texture), then cut into addictive, Instagram-worthy rectangles as desired. If there are any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge.