Brownies With Caramel Frosting Recipe

Who does not love brownies! Make these delicious brownies and top them with a caramel sauce. Garnish with chocolate drizzle and nuts and see them make the list of 'To Make again' with your family and friends!

Ingredients

Brownies:
3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped

Caramel Topping:
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup water, chilled
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Garnish:
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated
1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted & chopped

Directions

Brownies:

Preheat the oven to 350�F.

Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with butter.

Use a small saucepan over low heat to melt the butter and chocolate until melted and smooth. Stir as needed. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Place the eggs into a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until well blended. Beat in the sugar until well combined. Add the melted butter and chocolate mixture along with the vanilla and salt and mix until well combined.

Using a separate bowl, stir together the flour and the cocoa.

Add the flour/cocoa to the wet mixture and beat in.

Stir in the nuts by hand then transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the top flat with a spatula.

Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and place the pan onto a cooling rack.

Let cool for 5 minutes before adding the caramel topping.

Caramel Topping:

You want to have the topping ready when the brownies are baked and have cooled for their 5 minutes, so prepare while the brownies are in the oven.

In order to prevent crystallization while make the caramel you will need to fill a measuring cup halfway with water. Put a pastry brush in to have ready when needed.

Use a heavy duty 2-quart size saucepan. Place the sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 cup chilled water into the saucepan and stir together.

Take your pastry brush from the water and brush down the sides of the pan to wash away any sugar crystals that may be there.

Bring the mixture to a boil using a medium-high heat. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until the mixture starts to color around the edges. Use your wet pastry brush occasionally to brush down the sides of the saucepan.

Carefully swirl the saucepan once as you want to even out the color and prevent any isolated sugar spots from burning.

Keep cooking for about 30 seconds longer until the sugar turns a beautiful amber color. You want to catch it before it gets to dark so keep a close watch on it.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully add the whipping cream. The cold hitting the hot will make the mixture bubble up furiously. When the bubbling settles down, add the butter and use a whisk to stir until the butter has completely melted. Whisk the vanilla and salt into the caramel sauce.

Pour the caramel topping on top of the brownies. It will be a thin consistency. Tip the pan a little back and forth to spread the mixture or use a spatula if needed to spread evenly.

Leave to sit for 45 to cool on the rack then place into the refrigerator and let cool for another hour to set the caramel.

Garnish:

Place almost all of the grated chocolate into a small saucepan. Reserve a sprinkling of the grated chocolate to sprinkle on top. (or you can melt it all if you like)

Add the whipping cream to the chocolate and heat over low heat, stirring as needed until the chocolate is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool a little until you can handle it, then transfer to a piping bag. If you don't have a piping bag you can use a small zip-loc bag and use a scissor to snip a tiny piece off a corner to form a piping bag.

Remove the brownies from the refrigerator. Scatter the nuts and grated chocolate on top then drizzle on the chocolate. Refrigerate about 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

You can serve chilled or at room temperature.