Caramel Chocolate Brownies

Caramel Chocolate Brownies are moist and gooey with an easy homemade caramel sauce poured over top of baked chocolate brownies. Decadent and delicious!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brownies, caramel sauce

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings squares

Calories 208kcal

Author Samantha Pickthall

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream or thickened cream
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, how to pack
1/4 tsp fine salt
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Brownies

100 g unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, golden or white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, scoop & leveled
2/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp fine salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Caramel Sauce

In a medium sized saucepan, combine cream, maple syrup, sugar and salt.
Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, occasionaly stirring, takes about 3 minutes. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom.
Turn off heat and vigorously whisk through the butter and vanilla until blended. Caramel will turn shiny and smooth.
Pour caramel into a glass jar or a clean bowl and set in the refrigerator while you make the brownies. This allows time for the caramel to thicken.

Chocolate Brownies

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF) fan-forced. Line a square 9-inch x 9-inch (22cm x 22cm) baking tin with parchment paper and set aside.
Melt butter and set aside for 5 minutes to cool down or until it’s just warm, not hot.
Prepare a large mixing bowl, using either electric hand beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attached.
In the mixing bowl, pour in cooled melted butter along with the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until well combined.
With the beater running on low-medium speed, slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream to emulsify, about 1 minute in total.
Sift over flour and cocoa powder. Add the salt. Beat on low-medium speed until incorporated, ensuring not to over-beat.
Pour batter into the lined tin and spread out evenly.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with some moist crumbs, not completely clean. Slightly under-baking will create a fudgy texture.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes.
Carefully pull brownie out from the tin and transfer to a wire rack, leaving the parchment paper intact as it will still be soft and delicate to handle.
Allow the brownie to cool completely before pouring over the caramel, this may take a couple hours.
Once the brownie has cooled, either gently pick it up and place it back into the baking pan or leave it on the rack with the paper underneath.
Pour refrigerated caramel over the brownie and spread it out with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon.
Sit at room temperature until caramel firms up slightly or refrigerate for 15-20 minutes until set. Note: Caramel won’t harden, it will remain soft but will firm up slightly in the fridge.
Cut into squares and enjoy!

Notes

Caramel Sauce: Make this first so it has time to thicken in the fridge while you make the brownie. When it's cooking on the stove, remember to keep stirring it to avoid it burning on the base.

Make Caramel Dairy-Free: Use coconut cream instead of regular cream and use coconut oil instead of butter. Use the same measurements as called for in the recipe.

Store brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

I do not recommend freezing the brownies with the caramel topping.

Freeze without the caramel: Freeze just the chocolate brownies by wrapping the whole brownie slab or just the sliced brownies tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil before placing them in an airtight container. Label with the name and date. Freeze for 2-3 months.

Thaw: At room temperature for several hours until they’re soft or thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Once thawed, you can go ahead and add the caramel sauce topping to either the entire slab or to the individual squares.

Nutrition