Salted Caramel Brownies

I made these.

Salted Caramel Brownies.

It sounds delicious, right? Since my chocolate and caramel making experience a couple of weeks ago, the chocolate-caramel combo has been on my mind.

And I think it could be. But honestly, this was one recipe that was a lot of work for some not-so-great results. Mostly, they were way too salty! And I kinda burnt the caramel sauce … It could be that I made these on Thursday night instead of packing for my weekend in Florida, or that there were several places in the recipe that I should have gone with my intuition and not with the printed instructions.

Plus there was the added inconvenience of the brownies being the cause of my bag being examined and bomb-checked at the airport on Friday morning.

Here’s where I got the recipe.

This is what I did (and this is what I would do differently).

Salted Caramel Sauce

Put 2 T light corn syrup in a pot.

 

Add 1 cup sugar.

 

and 1/4 cup water.

 

Cook over high heat until it turns a nice amber shade (about 350 degrees).

 

But try not to overcook it, like I did (mistake #1).

I should have followed my intuition with this caramel sauce. I mean, I just learned how to make caramel from a bonafide chocolatier! I think I would cook it over medium heat (not high) and add the sugar just a little at time, all the while rotating my pot (instead of using my wooden spoon to stir), until a beautiful amber color.

Then I added 1/2 cup heavy cream and be careful stirring – it will bubble up.

 

and strangely, 1/4 cup sour cream,

 

and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel. (I might adjust this to 1/2 a teaspoon in the future).

 

Set aside and start the brownie batter.

Mix together the dry ingredients.

1 1/4 cups flour

 

1 teaspoon salt

 

And 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

 

Now, set up a double boiler (did I mention this used a lot of dishes?)

Melt 1 cup butter and 1 bag of bittersweet chocolate chips

 

Once melted, take off the heat (but leave over the warm water) and add:

1 1/2 cups sugar

 

and 1/2 cup brown sugar

 

At this point, I had to transfer this to a larger bowl (generating, yet more dirty dishes).

Add 5 large eggs, in two batches, mixing well.

 

and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

 

Fold in dry ingredients.

 

Pour 1/2 the batter in a buttered 9 x 13 inch glass casserole dish, followed by a layer of the caramel sauce.

 

Top with remaining brownie batter. Bake at 350 degrees. The recipe suggests baking for 30 minutes, I think I actually ended up baking for about 40-45 minutes total. They weren’t overbaked or dry at all. The caramel layer soaked into the brownie and kept them unbelievably moist.

They certainly look pretty. Too bad they were so salty!

I did however, find a way to make them pretty tasty. When I got to Florida, I discovered that Scott had surprised me with a pint of salted caramel ice cream. Now, I actually thought the ice cream wasn’t quite salty enough (fickle, I know), so I decided to top the brownies with the ice cream.

Genius.

Not a total flop – but I suppose a good learning experience. My intuition may be more sound than I give it credit for. Also, don’t try a new recipe the night before you have to travel.

All’s well that ends well.