Salted Caramel Truffle Brownies (Finding the perfect brownie part 1)

I'm currently on a mission to find the perfect brownie. I've tried many recipes, but never have I been able to say that I have found the ONE. If you have any recipe suggestions then please let me know! 

Brownies for me should be fudgy and dense - an intense chocolate hit with that characteristic flaky sugar crust. Not like a cake...no not like a cake at all. Heaven forbid should your brownie be like a cake. The whole point of a brownie is that it's ever so richer and crammed with way more butter and chocolate than your average cake. It should not be anything like a cake. Rant over. 



So these are everything you'd want in a brownie. On the scale of brownie perfection, they hit about a 7. But for me they are just too gooey and sticky, hence why I've called them truffle brownies...however, they taste gorgeous. And I bet you everyone you make them for will be very happy people indeed.

*I did have one small problem with the recipe which was that my mix split when I added in the chocolate. It was fine once I'd added the eggs and flour, but to avoid this needless kitchen drama, my advice would be to melt everything over a bain marie, just to be on the safe side. 

I also added extra cracked sea salt on top as I felt the brownies didn't have enough sweet-salty contrast.  

A brownie selfie! Sure it will catch on eventually, right, right? *empty silence*....Anyway, here's the recipe from one of my favourite blogs, Poires au Chocolat: 

Salted Caramel Brownies
(adapted from Paul A Young's Adventures with Chocolate)

For the caramel:
75g/3oz white caster sugar
50ml double cream
10g/1/2oz unsalted butter
1/8 tsp fleur de sel/good sea salt

For the brownie:
100g/3 1/2oz unsalted butter
150g/5oz caster sugar
100g/3 1/2oz light brown sugar
75g/3oz golden syrup
275g/9 1/2oz quality 70% dark chocolate 
4 eggs
70g/2 1/2oz plain flour
small handful of cocoa nibs

1. Tip the sugar into a big heavy-bottomed pan in an even layer. Place over medium-high heat. Wait until the edges start to liquify then gently start to move the sugar around onto the wet spots to try and get it to melt evenly - don't stir it. Don't worry if it starts to clump a little, it will melt down later. Keep gently moving the unmelted sugar into the liquid bits until you just have a liquid. Keep cooking until it reaches a deep golden-bronze, almost the colour of a penny. Immediately take off the heat and whisk in about 1/3 of the cream to stop the caramel cooking. Keep pouring and whisking until all the cream is incorporated. Add the butter in chunks and the salt and stir until smooth. Pour into a bowl to cool - at the moment it will pour easily off the spoon in thin ribbons. 

2. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Line a 8-9" 20-23cm square tin (that's at least 2.5cm tall) with paper. Add the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and syrup to the (scraped out, empty) caramel saucepan. Heat until everything is melted together then beat until smooth. Take off the heat then add all the chocolate* (see above for my recommendation). Stir until melted and uniform. Lightly whisk the eggs in a small bowl then incorporate them into the mix. Finally add the flour and beat throughly until very smooth and glossy. Pour into the prepared tin. 

3. By now your caramel should be gloriously thick, Spoon fairly evenly over the mix then use a knife to lightly swirl it through. Scatter the cocoa nibs over the top. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes then take out and leave to cool. Once cool, put into the fridge overnight or the freezer until frozen solid. (I sprinkled over extra sea salt, which you can do too!) Slice up with a sharp knife dipped into hot water and cleaned between each cut. Serve cold, warm or at room temperature - up to you!

(Makes about 16-20 small but rich squares)