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The Salted Caramel Brownie a top seller at Amelie's French Bakery in NoDa.
Chris Edwards
We have assistant pastry chef Erin Stanton to thank for the combination of sweet-salty caramel and sophisticated dark chocolate that made this brownie a top seller at year-old Amelie's French Bakery in NoDa (2424 N. Davidson St., 704-376-1781, ameliesfrenchbakery.com). Amelie's bakes the treat 400 at a time; you'll understand why after you polish off your own two dozen.
Yields 24 brownies
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 cups granulatedsugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup salted caramel glaze (see below; prepare glaze when brownies are cool)
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter or cooking spray.
In the top of a double boiler over medium heat, melt chocolate and butter, being sure the water in the bottom of the double boiler does not touch the top pan. Stir chocolate and butter until completely melted. Then stir in sugar. Blend well. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Stir eggs into chocolate mixture. Then add flour, stirring until completely blended. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Completely cool brownies in pan. Pour caramel glaze over brownies and cool until caramel sets. Slice into bars, about 2 inches square.
Salted Caramel Glaze
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons powdered gelatin,
- combined with 1/4 cup cold water
In a small saucepan over low heat, warm heavy cream until hot, but not boiling. In a separate tall saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place over medium-high heat. Do not stir as sugar dissolves and mixture reaches a dark amber stage. Add cream, butter, and salt. Stir gently until mixture is smooth and well combined. Remove from heat and add gelatin, stirring to combine. Use immediately.
Reader Comments:
what kind of gelatin?
Response from the author:
You can buy both powdered and sheet gelatin -- but the recipe specifies powdered. Also, some recipes require a very specific gelling strength and therefore specify a specific brand of gelatin, but for this one the gelling strength isn't that important. (It doesn't need to hold a specific shape, for instance.) So, short answer: Any type of powdered gelatin should work, but I tested it with Knox.
OK to use table salt if fine sea salt is not available? The sea salt I find is all pretty coarse. (Maybe I can mortar and pestle it, or grind in food processor?)
Could you please be so kind as to verify the amount of gelatin? My caramel topping seems to be abnormally "stringy" and impossible to cut! (should it be 2 teaspoons, perhaps?) Thank you!
@EDOGG: Actually, coarse sea salt is preferable. You want that extra crunch for texture purposes, plus sea salt has a much purer salt flavor.
I have the same difficulty with the caramel glaze as MiBaker. When I tried to lift the brownies out with the spatula, they did not want to separate from one another at the caramel layer. I had to use a kitchen scissor to separate each brownie. It was nothing like a "glaze." I didn't care for the texture of the caramel to the point that I don't want to serve these or give them to anyone. It's not just gooey or sticky -- it's rubbery. I wish I had skipped the gelatin altogether, as I was inclined to do when I first looked at the recipe.
I would use the recipe for the actual brownie again -- it's very rich and very tasty. But, I cannot recommend the glaze recipe as it's written.
I had the same difficulty as Chocoholic posted on May 26th. The brownies were de-lish but the caramel although also de-lish was rubbery - I hope you can tell us how to fix this problem! Also when I was boiling the water/sugar the water evaporated and sugar didn't melt! Yikes--I had to had some water. That was very strange! I've made caramel before it it didn't
My friend just e-mail me this recipe with the following tip about the caramel glaze:
Tip: Um this recipe's rec to use a tbsp of gelatin? No no no, as Beyonce says. Shoot for literally a smidge - like 8 little granules of gelatin and maybe a tsp of H20 to dissolve. When making the caramel, you don't want to stir the boiling water - sugar - just let it boil. But, I use a pasta spoon to lightly mix it together so it didn't burn one half the caramel. I made a couple batches - the first blew, but then it got better:)
I followed the recipe and my brownies turned out like rocks =(