Happy Wednesday! It’s almost the weekend (well, kind of), and to celebrate I have got some absolutely devine salted caramel brownies to share with you today. They are bloody gorgeous.
Controversially, salted caramel isn’t really one of my favourite flavours. Why on Earth did I make these salted caramel brownies then? Well, ever since Alexa Chung made some on last year’s Celebrity Bake Off, Kate made me promise to whip her up a batch.
And they were worth the wait. These brownies are so good, that they actually made me make that ‘yummy’ noise that people on TV make when they eat something they want to pretend is delicious. They are just the right mix of fudgy chocolate and salty sweet caramel. Just look at them. I want to lick the screen.
I have a chequered history when it comes to baking brownies – let’s never talk about the time I tried putting raspberries in some… My main problem is that I always seem to over-bake them, which I did yet again with these. Mine were in the oven for 35 minutes, which was probably 5 minutes too long, so I have reduced the baking time in the recipe below.
I also made them with gluten-free flour, which means that everyone can enjoy them. Baking with gluten-free flour can be a bit of a nightmare, but due to the minimal amount of flour that is actually involved in the making of theses brownies, it doesn’t make a difference to the texture or taste at all.
Salted caramel brownies tip #1 – leave them to properly cool in the tin. Don’t try and get them out too soon, or they will just fall apart. I put these in the fridge for a couple of hours to fully set, and then it made them much easier to cut into squares. The salted caramel is going to ooze out the sides whatever you do, but that’s just the price you pay for deliciousness.
Confession time… I didn’t make my own salted caramel sauce. I used this salted caramel sauce from Sainsbury’s, which by the way, is absolutely delicious. I could just eat it out the jar with a spoon. You could easily make your own caramel sauce though, or use some of the caramel you find next to the condensed milk in the supermarket and add in some salt.
I bought the caramel sauce before Christmas, but I never used it for it’s intended purpose (whatever that was). So hopefully Sainsbury’s still make it, and it wasn’t just a Christmas treat.
And now I wish I hadn’t eaten them all 🙁
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- 200g (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 200g (7oz) milk chocolate (I used Green & Blacks 37%)
- 150g (¾ cup) golden caster sugar (or US granulated sugar)
- 90g (¾ cup) gluten-free plain flour (or regular plain flour)
- 60g (½ cup) cocoa powder
- 4 large eggs
- 260g (¾ cup) salted caramel sauce
- Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F / 170°C fan. Line the bottom of a 20cm (8inch) square brownie tin with baking parchment or greaseproof paper.
- Melt the butter and chocolate in a large bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water. Stir occasionally, until the butter and chocolate have completely melted. Remove from the heat.
- Beat in the sugar, flour, cocoa, and eggs. Mix well, until a grainy, gloopy mixture forms.
- Pour half the brownie mixture into the pre-prepared brownie tin, and level out with the back of a spoon. Pour or dollop the salted caramel sauce onto the top, and spread out as much as possible without mixing into the brownie mix too much.
- Pour the remaining brownie mix onto the salted caramel, and level out using the back of a spoon. Try and make sure all of the caramel layer has been covered with the brownie mixture.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the edges are slightly firm, but the middle is still soft. Leave to cool in the tin, and then move to the fridge for an hour or so before cutting.
- These brownies will keep at room temperature or in the fridge for 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container. The baked brownies can be frozen for 3 months.