BROWNIES WITH SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Brownies with Salted Caramel Sauce image

Categories Chocolate Dessert Bake Shower Edible Gift Bon Appétit Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher

Yield Makes 16 servings

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

Brownies:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 tablespoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for pan
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Caramel sauce and assembly:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
Gray sea salt or flaky sea salt (such as Maldon; for serving)

Steps:

For brownies:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8x8x2" baking pan with nonstick spray. Dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess. Place butter, unsweetened chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, whisk flour, espresso powder, kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder in another medium bowl; set aside.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick, about 2 minutes; beat in vanilla. Fold in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients, just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake brownies until a tester inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, 20-25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let brownies cool in pan. Cut brownies into 16 squares.
For caramel sauce and assembly:
Bring sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to mediumhigh and cook without stirring, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush, until sugar is a deep amber color, 5-8 minutes. Remove caramel from heat.
Add cream and butter (mixture will bubble vigorously) and whisk to combine. Let cool slightly in pan.
Drizzle caramel sauce over brownies and sprinkle with sea salt.
DO AHEAD: Brownies can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep at room temperature. Caramel sauce can be made 1 week ahead. Let cool. Cover and chill. Reheat before using.