Salted Caramel Cocoa Brownies
Salted Caramel Cocoa Brownies are the fudgiest cocoa brownies with a crispy, crackly exterior smothered with a to die for Salted Caramel Chocolate Buttercream frosting. You’ll enjoy every single sweet and salty bite of this highly addictive brownie!
My oldest niece graduated high school this past weekend, which made me feel very old (as if I needed any help there). 🙂 If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the photo of her and I. She’s so grown up!
I told her for her graduation dinner that I would make whatever kind of cupcake she wanted. Guess what she chose? My Chocolate Cupcakes…what a great choice. 🙂
The sweet and salty thing is my absolute favorite, and apparently, it’s my niece’s too.
What do those cupcakes have to do with these brownies? The luscious frosting, of course! I had some frosting leftover from the cupcakes, and there was no way I was wasting it.
Since I was in charge of dessert for a Father’s Day barbecue, too, I thought I had to make a batch of brownies and frost them with the leftovers. Oh, and they weren’t complete without a little drizzle of salted caramel sauce and a sprinkle of Maldon salt either. Don’t you agree? 🙂
I wasn’t able to photograph the brownies before I left, so I was secretly hoping I would have a few left. I came home with 5 left — which was just enough for a photo shoot. A very yummy photo shoot which ended with me eating one of the brownies. Being a food blogger is very rewarding. 😉
These brownies are some of the most special brownies ever. I’ve made delicious cocoa brownies before, but I specifically Googled “Alice Medrich brownies” and this recipe for “Alice Medrich’s Best Cocoa Brownies” came up. Alice Medrich is the queen of chocolate, and I truly believed if they were created by her, they would be the best.
They were just that — these brownies are so chocolatey, fudgy, and the outside is crispy and crackly just the way they should be. So good. They would’ve been great with just a sprinkle of salt, but remember, I had salted caramel chocolate buttercream I needed to use up. 🙂
As for the cocoa powder, I splurged on Valrhona cocoa for my niece’s cupcakes, and I used them here. It does make a difference, and is worth the extra money. You can find it at Whole Foods, Sur La Table, or Amazon.com. It made these brownies taste even chocolatier! For special occasions, it’s totally warranted.
As great as the brownies were all by themselves, the frosting took them to new heights. I’m talking sweet and salty heights here, and once you taste these brownies, there’s no going back. These are the brownies of dreams, folks, and I hope you make this dream a reality very soon. 🙂
More brownie recipes you’ll love:
Salted Caramel Cocoa Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs cold
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon fleur de sel I used Maldon salt
For the buttercream:
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon milk
- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce
- 1 teaspoon fleur de sel
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate melted and cooled slightly
Instructions
Prepare the brownies:
- Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Line an 8×8" pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on opposite sides. Set aside.
- Place the butter, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and place in large pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth and just hot enough to the point that when you touch it you want to remove your finger quickly. Remove the bowl from the simmering water and set aside briefly until it’s no longer hot — just a bit warm.
- Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. When the batter is thick, shiny, and well-blended, add the flour and stir it until incorporated. From there, beat it vigorously with the wooden spoon for 40 strokes. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the surface has puffed up evenly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a bit of moist batter. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Prepare the salted caramel sauce:
- Place the sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to high, and boil the sugar without stirring. If the sugar begins to crystallize on the sides of the pan, carefully use a wet pastry brush to brush it off. Boil until the sugar turns a deep amber color, being careful not to burn, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream a bit at a time, as the caramel will bubble over if too much is added at once. Whisk in the butter and fleur de sel. Transfer to a dish to cool.
Prepare the buttercream:
- Place the butter and powdered sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium until the sugar has been incorporated. Add the milk, caramel sauce and fleur de sel, and beat until combined. Add the melted chocolate, and beat until incorporated. Once incorporated, beat the buttercream at medium high speed for 3 minutes until creamy.
- When the brownies have cooled, remove from the pan and place on a cutting board. Frost with the salted caramel frosting and cut into 9 large brownies, then cut each brownie in half diagonally. Drizzle with extra salted caramel sauce and Maldon salt, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Brownies and frosting are best at room temperature, so if you refrigerate them, make sure to leave them out at room temperature at least one hour prior to serving.
- Cocoa brownie recipe adapted from Alice Medrich’s Best Cocoa Brownies.
- Salted Caramel Sauce adapted from Tante Marie Cooking School, San Francisco, CA.
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Buttercream recipe from Flavor the Moments.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
59 Comments on “Salted Caramel Cocoa Brownies”
Your niece has great taste!! It does not get better than chocolate and salted caramel! I love these brownies…and that frosting!!
I was very happy that she chose those cupcakes, and they led to my favorite brownies ever! Thanks, Zainab, and have a great day! 🙂
Salted caramel makes my heart go pitter patter! These look amazing Marcie! Loving that frosting and the caramel sauce! Yum!
Salted caramel does that to me, too, Serene! I don’t know why I’ve never gotten around to doing this with brownies before because these were pretty much my favorite thing ever. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
You completely had me at salted caramel. Love these Marcie!
Salted caramel is the best! Thanks, Matt. 🙂
I’m in caramel heaven! This look amazing! Definitely a perfect brownie combination!
Thank you, Gayle! The sweet and salty thing is my favorite. 🙂
I liked this frosting with brownies even more — they were so melt-in-your-mouth! Thank you, Consuelo! 🙂
When I had leftovers, I found myself thinking about these all day until I had one. So bad. haha Thanks, Meghan! 🙂
I now want all of my brownies smothered in that perfect salted caramel!!
I’m not sure if I can do just plain brownies anymore. Haha. Thx, Jocelyn!
Wowza! Brownies are my very favorite dessert and these are beautiful! I love the buttercream and the caramel! Congrats to your niece – my oldest niece just started college last year and I felt so old when she started. How on earth does time fly so quickly?!
Brownies are my favorite dessert, too. Learning how to make caramel sauce has turned me into a monster, too! haha Time does fly, too — before we know it our own kids will be graduating, right? Thanks, Jen! 🙂
Yummy.. Mouth watering brownies
Thank you! 🙂
Oh my wow! Totally in love with these salty and sweet brownies Marcie – they look incredible! Yay and congrats to your niece – she must have been thrilled with the cupcakes – I am still dreaming about those too after you shared them here 🙂
Thank you, Kelly! I’m going to be dreaming about them until I make them again! 🙂
Love these brownies Marcie! The salted caramel topping sounds DIVINE!! I would love to sink my teeth into one of these.
Thank you, Jessica! 🙂
Oh, yummy! Great combination of flavors. I love it! 🙂
Thank you, Pat! It’s definitely my favorite! 🙂
Fudgy brownies are the only kind…I agree completely. I was late getting on the salted caramel bandwagon, too, but I’m definitely making up for lost time. It doesn’t matter when…the important thing is that we discovered it. 🙂
Can’t wait to try these Marcie! They look AMAZING! 🙂
I loved these WAY too much! Thanks, Liz! 🙂
Congrats to your niece! How exciting for your family! I can see why she chose those cupcakes. They look fabulous! Anything with salted caramel and chocolate is a winner in my book. Also, these brownies look downright amazing. LOVE that fluffy caramel frosting! Pinned.
Thanks, Sarah, and I appreciate the pin! 🙂
Oh, I love Valrhona cocoa powder. It looks like it made these brownies incredibly rich and decadent, just how I like them 🙂
Valrhona really did make a huge difference, and is so worth the splurge! Thanks, Ashley, and have a great day! 🙂
the buttercream looks delicious!
I normally don’t care much for buttercream, but when there’s caramel sauce in it, it’s a whole different story. 🙂 Thanks, Dina!
These brownies are pure pleasure. Such great looking too!
Thank you, Ami! It really was just that — pure pleasure! 🙂
Wow, those brownies look amazing Marcie! I can just imagine how awesome the salted caramel and cocoa taste. 🙂
Thank you, Lisa, and this is definitely of the the awesome-est combinations in my book! 🙂
It sounds like you have to wipe down your keyboard. haha Sweet & salty is where it’s at! Thank you for the nice comment, as always, and for the pin! 🙂
Marcie you need to make more and send me some!! haha or I guess I could just make my own : ) Seriously these look amazingly ridiculous. Between the brownie itself, that buttercream and the caramel … and the salt!!
I’d be glad to send you some…all of them…because I can’t have these in the house anymore. They’re calling my name at every turn! haha Hope you have a wonderful weekend, Ashley! 🙂
The look absolutely mouth-wateringly gorgeous! And Marcie – I need some of these right now. So can you send over a dozen please? In fact, I’d be happy having the only 5 you have left. 🙂
I’m shipping them off now, Kristi! haha Thanks, and have yourself a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Oh my! I love all the flavors here!!
Thank you, Ashley! 🙂
This brownie recipe is the best ever! Thanks Samina, and I hope you get to try them soon! 🙂
The brownies look heavenly! Love that salted caramel topping- amazing!
Thank you, Jessica! 🙂
Oh my… this is jaw-droppingly delicious!
Thank you, Aimee! 🙂
I’m a sucker for brownies and these look amazingly delicious! I’m loving this flavor combo. 🙂
Thank you, Tina! Hope you have a great weekend. 🙂
Congrats to your niece! And what good taste she has in cupcakes 🙂 I’m so glad you put that icing to good use – these brownies look unreal!! YUM!!
Thank you, Cate! There was no way I was wasting that frosting. 🙂
Marcie, these brownies look amazing! I love salted caramel, but add brownies and I am afraid I would lose all sense of self control. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
I certainly had trouble keeping my self control with these around. Biggest weakness ever! Thanks, Kloe, and have a great weekend! 🙂
Wow, Marcie these look amazing! Glad you were able to get a few to photograph. I love this combination of brownie and salted caramel. I need to check out that cocoa 😀
Thank you, Cindy! Hope you’re having a great weekend. 🙂
Thank you, Jennifer! 🙂
These look fabulous!! I could dive right into that frosting!! 🙂
Craving these right now! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
I could go for some more of these, too! Thanks, Karly! 🙂