Sweet & Salty Brownies

Sweet & Salty Brownies

Recipe from — Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented

Ingredients:

For the filling…

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp corn syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp black sea salt
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)

For the brownie…

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 11 ounces good quality dark chocolate (I like Ghirardelli) – roughly chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: dust the brownies with sea salt and turbinado sugar.

Directions:

1. Make the caramel: combine the sugar and corn syrup with 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan, stir together carefully. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees F, or dark amber. Don’t step away at this point: you will burn your caramel. Watch it carefully and once it reaches the dark amber state remove the pan from the heat. Slowly add the cream. Then mix in the salt and yogurt. Set aside.
2. Make a double boiler by placing a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Maker sure the bowl does not touch the water! Add the chopped dark chocolate and butter to the bowl. Stir occasionally until melted and one uniform mixture.
3. While the chocolate and butter are melting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a light colored 9X13 pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the parchment.
4. Once the chocolate and butter is melted and mixed together turn off the heat. Don’t move the bowl from the pan. Mix in both sugars until completely combined. Remove the bowl from the pot.
5. In a medium bowl; mix together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
6. Mix three eggs into the chocolate mixture. Once mostly mix in, add the remaining two eggs. Mix until just combined.
7. Mix in the vanilla. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate egg mixture. Gently fold until the dry ingredients are just about fully combined.
8. Pour half the batter over the parchment. Using a spatula smooth into an even layer.
9. Pour the caramel over the first layer of brownie batter. Be careful not to get the caramel too close to the edges – it will burn and become very chewy. Try and carefully spread the caramel in an even layer over the brownie batter. Don’t worry about making it perfect.
10. Carefully spoon the remaining brownie batter over the layer of caramel. Lightly spread the batter to cover the caramel.
11. Bake for 30 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.