The thin layer of fudgy brownie is topped with a sticky layer of salty sweet caramel, which makes these babies addicting like crack … not that I would know really, since I’ve never done cocaine, but I can imagine.
Amelie’s French Bakery in NoDa has been known for their Salted Caramel Brownies since they first opened their doors. Now that I’ve tried this recipe (obtained via Charlotte Magazine and supplied by Amelie’s) for the same brownies at home, I can make my own stash of these crack brownies and hoard them away in my fridge for when a hankering arises.
A few things to note before you dive in:
1. Be sure to use foil to line your pan. (And be sure to butter the foil well … really well.) This way you can lift the entire sheet of brownies out of the pan and onto a cutting board to cut into bars, which will allow you to make cleaner cuts and make prettier brownies.
2. Do not overbake. I baked the brownies for 25 minutes and they came out just right.
3. For the caramel part, be sure to babysit the water and sugar mixture when boiling. It starts turning light brown after 5 minutes or so, and turns amber quickly after that.
4. Chill the brownies in the fridge to set the caramel.
5. If serving to guests on a platter, cut and place individual brownies in paper muffin/cupcake tin liners.
Salted Caramel Brownies
Yields 24 brownies
Ingredients
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup salted caramel glaze (see below; prepare glaze when brownies are cool)
Directions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with foil and then butter well.
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 25-30 minutes.
Completely cool brownies in pan. Pour caramel glaze over brownies and cool in fridge until caramel sets. Slice into bars, about 2 inches square.
Salted Caramel Glaze
Ingredients
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
Directions
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.
This article appears in May 11-17, 2010.
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Thanks, Priscilla! I’ve heard so much about these and can’t wait to modify them to make them gluten-free.
Oh my — the legend lives and is shared! I’ll be making my own batch later today — but first, I’m heading over to Amelie’s. (And to think I was planning to blog a grilled tuna recipe later today. Who wants healthy when they can have BROWNIES? Silly me.)
I made these – they are SO good! But – the caramel seems rubbery to me. Could you double check the gelatin amount? I think maybe it should have been 2 teaspoons (instead of tablespoons)?
Hey, Melissa,
The recipe is indeed 2 Tablespoons of gelatin. Not sure why your caramel turned rubbery… :/
Did you use the correct amount of heavy cream? Or maybe you cooked it a bit too long?
Mine, turned out rubbery as well. I thought the same thing, as the other Melissa, should it be 2 tsp? As the gelatin was combined with the 1/4 C water, it turned into a rubbery, gelatinous state. Is there a technique one should apply when working with gelatin?
I mixed the water and gelatin together right before adding it to the caramel. Perhaps the trick is to not let it sit too long to congeal prior. Did you assemble the gelatin and water a few minutes before adding it to the caramel?
Like Melissa, using 2 full tablespoons of gelatin caused the topping to be unappetizingly rubbery. To get to a full 2 tablespoons, I had to use 3 packages (7g ea) of gelatin. I think had I used 2 packages or less, this would have been a great topping.
However, the brownies themselves are fantastic. Best I ever made. I think with some tweaking, the topping would accentuate those great brownies making this a fantastic dessert.
@Priscilla It doesn’t matter whether you mix the gelatin in water immediately prior to adding or let it sit 30 seconds r an hour, what matters to the end product is the amount of gelatin added. Even if the gelatin is solid before you add it to the recipe, it will still melt in all that hot sugar. When it comes to the end product, it is the amount that matters. I think that two packets or less (14 g or less) would make a world of difference. I have found other recipes that insist that a standard packet of gelatin is 1 tablespoon and if you measure it, it comes out to about 3/4 T. I think that people do go by measurements then use too much gelatin and end up with rubbery desserts.
I’m going to play around with this topping recipe and report back.
Thanks, Daktari. Let me know what you find! I used two packets of gelatin for my recipe. It was a scant two tablespoons…
I had the same difficulty with the topping and tossed the brownies away. What a waste! The brownies themselves were yummy but the topping texture was a deal-breaker.
I went on Pioneer Woman’s website and tried the 1 TBS plus 1 tsp of gelatin. What a disaster! I think I’ll just stick to purchasing these at Amelie’s. I’ll keep the brownie recipe!
I agree with many of the posters above. The caramel is too rubbery and made it almost impossible to cut the brownies. (I used two packets of gelatin in my caramel.) After that batch, I attempted to make the glaze using no gelatin at all. That didn’t work either. I think I’m going to just reduce the amount of gelatin in the recipe, maybe one packet instead of two.
I visited my friend in NC and had these at Amelie’s – they were incredible. So I want to thank you for posting this! I live in MI and unfortunately NC is kind of a far drive for brownies. 🙂 I used 2 packets of gelatin and my topping turned out great. I think the trick it to leave them overnight so the caramel sets completely.