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These salted caramel brownies bake up into the most decadent fudgy brownies ever. A homemade caramel sauce is hiding in the center of these brownies which helps them bake up so incredibly moist. Topped with a little sea salt, these are brownies are next level!
Last year I shared what turned out to be the single most popular recipe on my blog – homemade brownies. Now we’re sharing a recipe for Salted Caramel Brownies!
Chocolate Caramel Overload
I have an obscene number of cookbooks and one of my favorite baking books is Baked Explorations. The book is large, gorgeous, and the recipe are solid.
These salted caramel brownies come straight from that book and I do not think I’m exaggerating when I call them life changing. So thick and fudgy with this secret filling of salted caramel hiding inside. These are brownies for true dessert lovers who just want to be smacked in the face with fudgy chocolatey goodness.
These are not the type of brownies you make on a whim on a weeknight, admittedly. They require a bit more time since the caramel sauce is made from scratch. It’s easy, but it does take time. And to be perfectly honest, these brownies are good after they’ve cooled for just a bit, but they are really at their best the next day. Like, you might win a baking competition with them on day 2, they’re just that good after they’ve had a little time for the voodoo to happen.
Don’t want to wait for the brownie magic to happen while these sit overnight? Bake up our Nutella brownies and they’re ready much faster!
If you love fudgy, chocolatey recipes you should definitely try these Texas sheet cake cookies, or my chocolate crinkle cookies. So fudgy!
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- Fudgy: Did I mention just how fudgy and chocolatey these brownies are? We love the soft, rich, moist texture and flavor of these brownies. If you love chocolate you’re going to love these brownies.
- Caramel: There is just the right amount of caramel sauce in these brownies. It mostly gets soaked into the brownie batter itself but every now and then you’ll get a bite with a glob of caramel that is a little bite of heaven!
- Sea Salt: The contrasting saltiness really helps balance out the flavors in these brownies. Without it they might be just a bit too sweet or chocolatey. Plus, the fleur de sel has a wonderful thin, flaky texture that adds a little bit of crunch.
Ingredient Notes:
For the caramel filling:
Sugar & Corn Syrup – The caramel filling starts with some sugar and corn syrup along with a little bit of water. It’ll get heated up until it’s nice and golden.
Sour Cream – This isn’t going to make the caramel taste sour! It’s just going to add more rich, creamy texture and flavor to the filling.
Fleur de Sel – This is a flaky, coarse French sea salt that is a bit expensive but worth it for the unique texture. You could definitely just use some regular kosher salt or sea salt here instead.
For the brownie:
Flour & Sugar – Some pretty standard brownie batter ingredients here! You’ll need all-purpose flour, granulated white sugar, and light brown sugar.
Cocoa Powder – We like to use Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder. It really adds lots of rich, fudgy flavor to the brownies. But any Dutch processed cocoa will work if you’ve got a preference.
Dark Chocolate – For even more chocolatey goodness we’re adding in chopped dark chocolate. I’d recommend using a good quality bar that is 60% to 72% dark chocolate.
Eggs – You’ll need 5 large eggs for preparing the brownie batter and you’ll want to take them out of the fridge ahead of time so they can get up to room temperature before using.
Vanilla – Some vanilla extract for flavor.
My Favorite Cocoa Powder!
This cocoa powder is Dutch-processed, giving it a rich, deep flavor and color. Hershey’s brand is inexpensive and easy to find.
How to Make Caramel Filling:
Add the sugar, corn syrup, and water to a sauce pan and carefully stir it. Cook over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees or it’s a dark amber color. This will take about 8 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream. It will bubble up. Add the salt and then whisk in the sour cream. Set the caramel filling aside to cool.
How to Make Salted Caramel Brownies:
Place the dark chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are fully melted and combined. Whisk in the sugar off the heat and then begin whisking in the eggs.
Add the flour to the chocolate. Use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients in to the wet ingredients until there is only a trace amount of the flour mixture visible.
Pour half of the brownie batter into a pan, top with about 3/4 of the caramel sauce, and then pour the drop spoonfuls of the remaining brownie batter over the top and gently smooth it out.
Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Use a toothpick inserted in the center to check for doneness. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.
Pro tips:
Double Boiler: If you don’t have a double boiler try making one using a small sauce pan and a glass or metal mixing bowl. You want the bowl to fit snugly over the pan without touching the water beneath. If using a glass bowl, I lift it off every minute or so to vent the steam, just to be safe.
Cakey Brownies: Do not overbeat the batter or the brownies will end up cakey instead of fudgy and no one wants that.
Caramel Sauce: There will be extra caramel sauce leftover. It’s perfect for drizzling over the brownies or refrigerate it and save for another use.
Test for Doneness: You want a few moist crumbs to cling to the toothpick when checking for doneness. If the batter is too dry and there aren’t any crumbs, the brownies are overbaked.
Cool Completely: Not only are these best served completely cooled, so that the caramel can soak up into the brownie and do it’s magic, they’re even better the next day. If you can handle making these one day ahead, we highly recommend it!
Freezing & Storage Instructions:
You can store these salted caramel brownies tightly wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container for about 4 days at room temperature. They’ll last a few days longer in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze these brownies! They’ll last up to a few months in a freezer safe bag or container. We prefer to wrap these individually in plastic wrap before storing in a plastic bag.
Recipe FAQs:
Sweet and salty is a very popular dessert combination. The salty and sweet flavors complement each other. Caramel is mostly just sugar so the salt helps to cut the sweetness a bit which keeps it from tasting too rich.
For this recipe I’m using unsalted butter as we’re already adding plenty of salt. It’s just easier to control how salty it is, but it won’t hurt to use salted butter if that’s what you’ve got!
Fudgy brownies are very dense and have a richer, more chocolatey flavor. A cakey brownie is a bit more airy, crumbly, and cake like. Fudgy brownie recipes use more fat than flour, and that mostly means more butter or chocolate.
More Homemade Brownie Recipes!
- M&M Brownies
- Marshmallow Brownies
- Halloween Brownies
- Loaded Reese’s Brownies
- Cheesecake Brownies
- Easter Oatmeal Brownies
- Valentine’s Brownies
Salted Caramel Brownies
Ingredients
For the caramel filling:
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel divided, see notes
- 1/4 cup sour cream
For the brownie:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder see notes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 11 ounces dark chocolate 60 to 72%, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the caramel filling:
- Combine the sugar and corn syrup with 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan, stirring carefully so as not to splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350F or until the mixture is dark amber in color, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and slowly add the cream (careful, it will bubble up) and then 1 teaspoon fleur de sel. Whisk in the sour cream and set aside to cool.
To make the brownies:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal 9×13 baking dish. Line with parchment paper and butter the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Place the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water, and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. See notes below if you do not have a double boiler. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler, and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be at room temperature at this point.
- Add three eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining two eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage, or your brownies will be cakey.
- Sprinkle the flour and cocoa mixture over the chocolate. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until there is a just a trace amount of the flour mixture visible.
To assemble and bake:
- Pour half of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle about 3/4 cup of the caramel sauce over the brownie layer in a zigzag pattern, taking care to make sure the caramel does not come in contact with the edges of the pan or it will burn. (There will be caramel sauce left over that you can either serve over the brownies when serving or refrigerate and use for something else.) Use your offset spatula to spread the caramel evenly across the brownie layer. In heaping spoonfuls, scoop the rest of the brownie batter over the caramel layer. Smooth the brownie batter gently to cover the caramel layer.
- Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel.
- Cool the brownies completely before cutting and serving. For the best results, let brownies cool for 24 hours for the carmel sauce and brownies to fully meld into something magical. Store wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 4 days at room temperature or 6 days in the fridge.
Barbara says
Oh man, I love that sweet/salt with chocolate! That cookbook looks fabulous. Putting it on my wish list.
Jenn@eatcakefordinner says
That was a very good description of these brownies! I would love for someone to give me that cookbook!
Brittany says
Wow this sounds like such a fabulous recipe. Thanks for the note about the caramel; I usually don’t go for full caramel assault..but subtle flavour is always welcome 🙂
BethieofVA says
Oh my, how I would love one right now!
branny says
This looks great! I am not sure I’d have enough self control to prevent myself from eating the entire pan if I made them myself, though.
Brandy K says
oh merrrrrcy! Love this post. You are too funny. The brownies look so good! I can’t wait to try them. 🙂
Michelle says
My self-control just doesn’t allow for the joy of smelling brownies baking and then being tortured just looking at them for a whole day. Though, I know these particular brownies rock, I still can’t do it.
megan @ whatmegansmaking says
ok you totally have me wanting to make these!! Your description and pictures are awesome!
Beth says
I think it would be impossible to hide brownies from my family for that amount of time….whenever they smell any baked goods they are lined up at the oven! But they look SOOO good.
Hannah says
Those look amazing! I have a tendency to put salt on anything and I recently tried brownies and wow. Too good.
Amanda L. (Tales From A Kitchen Misfit) says
Just looking at those brownies is making my mouth water, BAD!
Joanne says
I’m feeling you on this one. I have this cookbook, made the grasshopper bars and then proceeded to bookmark everything else in the book. because if everything is as good as those bars…then I I will like it even if i don’t think I’ll like it. Does that make sense?
These are definitely on my short list. Amazing.
Amy @ The Savvy Kitchen says
Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Jessica @ How Sweet says
Sweet and salty?! Okay I must make these today!
grace says
i won’t lie–i’m used to knocking out a pan of brownies in under ten minutes (making them, not eating them)(okay, eating them, too…) so this is a new adventure for me. they look and sound marvelous!