Caramel Brownies
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These caramel brownies are incredibly fudgy with a thick layer of salted caramel in the middle. The perfect way to take your brownies to the next level!
If you love rich chocolate and gooey caramel – then you’ve come to the right place. These caramel stuffed brownies start with rich, fudgy brownie batter. Then there’s a thick layer of salted caramel in the middle that’s slightly gooey, but not too runny. I found a lot of caramel brownie recipes only used a drizzle of caramel sauce – which didn’t provide enough salted caramel for my liking.
But these caramel brownies feature a thick layer of sweet, creamy, gooey salted caramel in the middle that goes perfectly with the rich chocolate brownie.
Making Caramel Stuffed Brownies
For this recipe, you’ll start by making the caramel sauce. It’s important not to try and do this at the same time as you’re making the brownie batter as it needs to be carefully watched. Otherwise, you’ll end up with burnt caramel – which we definitely don’t want.
You’ll add a jar of a sweetened condensed milk to a saucepan over very low heat, along with your caramels. You can use store bought, homemade or artisanal caramels. Whichever you choose, I recommend using something that’s soft, chewy and that you can easily pull apart with your hands. You’ll carefully melt the ingredients together while gently stirring. It’s important to go very slowly over low heat and continuously stir to avoid burning. If you notice the mixture is bubbling – immediately turn off the burner and remove from the heat. Once melted, stir in the vanilla and a little more salt (if not using salted caramels).
Then it’s time to get onto the brownie batter.
- Start by preheating the oven to 350F (180C) and lining your pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil so that there’s an overhang around the edges. Because of the gooey caramel – lining the pan is definitely necessary for this recipe.
- You’ll start by melting together the butter and chopped dark chocolate. You can either do this over a double boiler or in the microwave. If using the microwave, be sure to use short 45-second intervals on medium power, then stir between each intervals. Otherwise the chocolate can burn and become grainy.
- I used 50% dark chocolate for this recipe. You could use any dark chocolate between 50-70% or semi-sweet chocolate chips. I wouldn’t recommend using anything with a higher percentage than 70% however, as the brownies will be too bitter.
- Then you’ll whisk in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla. Make sure that the chocolate and butter are slightly cooled first so that you don’t end up cooking the eggs in the batter.
- This recipe uses a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar. I find using some brown sugar in this brownie recipe produces a brownie flavor that pairs perfectly with the caramel.
- Then you’ll sift in the flour, cocoa and salt and gently stir the batter until you no longer see streaks or lumps of dry ingredients.
From there, it’s time to assemble the brownies. If your caramel has started to set, return to the burner over low heat and gently stir as it starts to soften again.
You’ll reserve 1 heaping cup of brownie batter for the top layer, then pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Then pour the caramel over the top and spread into an even layer. Drop spoonfulls of the remaining brownie batter over the top and spread into an even layer. If not all of the caramel is covered – that’s OK.
The brownies will bake for about 35 minutes. When they’re done baking the top should look set and an inserted toothpick should come out with sticky caramel residue but no gooey brownie batter.
Recipe Tip
Because of the gooey caramel filling – these brownies need to cool in the pan. They need to be completely cooled before slicing in order for the caramel to set. If you slice the brownies while they’re still warm, the caramel can ooze out.
These caramel brownies are incredibly fudgy and you’ll love the thick layer of caramel in the middle. Incredibly decadent and impossible to resist.
For more salted caramel recipes, I recommend trying:
- Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies
- Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Caramel Cheesecake
- Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes
Caramel Brownies
Equipment
- 8×8 inch (20×20 cm) pan
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce
- 12 ounces soft caramels (340 grams), see Notes
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (397 gram can)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, if not using salted caramels
Brownie Batter
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter (170 grams)
- 6 ounces dark chocolate (170 grams), 50-70% or semi-sweet
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (105 grams), light or dark
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (17 grams)
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (84 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Caramel Sauce
- Add the sweetened condensed milk to a medium saucepan over very low heat. Add in the unwrapped caramels.
- Gently melt together while continuously stirring with a rubber spatula. Go very slowly. If you notice any bubbly – immediately turn off the burner and remove the pan from the heat. It's incredibly important to go very slowly and remove the pan from the heat as necessary to prevent burning.
- Once melted together, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and optional sea salt. Set aside.
Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line an 8×8 inch (20×20 cm) square pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil so that there's an overhang around the edges.
- Chop the butter into cubes and finely chop the chocolate. Place in a heat proof bowl. Melt together either in a double boiler over low heat (be sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water in the pan below) or in the microwave. Microwave for 45-second intervals on medium power, then stir between each interval. Go slowly to prevent burning and the chocolate becoming grainy.
- Let the mixture cool slightly, then whisk in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa and salt. Gently whisk together until you no longer see streaks or lumps of dry ingredients.
- Reserve 1 heaping cup of brownie batter. Pour the rest of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top into an even layer.
- Spoon/pour the caramel sauce over the brownie batter in the pan and smooth into an even layer. If the caramel sauce has started to harden, return to the burner over very low heat and stir gently to allow it to gently melt.
- Drop spoonfulls of the reserved 1 cup of brownie batter over top of the caramel, then smooth into an even layer. If not all of the caramel is covered, that's OK.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with gooey caramel, but without gooey brownie batter.
- Cool the brownies in the pan until the pan is no longer warm to the touch. This will take about 4 hours. Alternatively, you can speed up the process by placing the pan on a cooling rack in the fridge to cool. Cooling the brownies fully before slicing is necessary for the caramel to set.
- Once the brownies are completely cooled, lift them out of the pan using the overhang of the parchment paper/aluminum foil. Place on a cutting board and slice with a thin, sharp knife. I recommend storing brownies in the fridge
Notes
- Caramels: Choose a soft caramel that you can easily bit into and pull apart with your hands. I like using homemade caramels, artisinal caramels or Werther’s Chewy Caramels. I do not like Kraft caramels for this recipe because I find they’re too hard.
- Chocolate: 50-70% chocolate works well or semi-sweet chocolate. 6 ounces is about 1 cup chocolate chips.
- Storage: Store brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 brownie, assuming the recipe yields 12 uniform brownies
I ended up having to bake for almost an hour