What would be great to eat as you watch the Oscar award ceremony? Brownies with caramel sauce? Here is an easy recipe for chocolate brownies laced with caramel sauce and sprinkled with fleur de sel. Yum!!
Caramel Brownies with Sea Salt
Makes on 8×8 pan
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup caramel sauce, warmed*
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel (optional)
Preheat oven to 350º. Grease an 8 x 8 square pan. Line bottom with parchment.
Sift together flour and salt.
Over double boiler, melt butter. Once melted, add chocolate; stir until melted. Remove from heat.
With mixer set to high, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla extract together until fluffy and light in color; add chocolate mixture; mix until combined; fold in flour.
Pour half the batter into pan; smooth top; pour half the caramel sauce over mixture; smooth evenly; pour remaining batter over caramel; smooth top again. Drizzle remaining caramel sauce over top, in one continuous zig-zag pattern. Turn pan 90 degrees; with toothpick, drag tip through top caramel and batter layer making same zig-zag pattern. Bake for 20 minutes, turn pan and bake for 15 minutes more. Remove from oven and sprinkle sea salt on top. When cool, cut into squares or bars.
*Caramel Sauce
Yield: 1 cup
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour sugar into heavy skillet and caramelize over low heat; constantly stirring until it has completely melted and is light brown in color. Remove from heat and very slowly stir in hot water. Don’t worry if sugar clumps, it will melt again when you reheat the mixture. Return the pan to medium heat; stirring to melt sugar clumps. Mixture will begin to boil. Continue boiling until mixture thickens and the boil isn’t as rapid. Remove from heat; add butter, salt and vanilla. Strain if there are remaining sugar clumps.