Just lately I've been craving Gower Cottage's chocolate brownies, but my secret stash in the freezer was sorely depleted over Christmas! However serendipity has struck again, as I spotted Ed Kimber's brownie recipe in my in-box this morning. There's definitely something about salted caramel... It's my favourite filling in Laduree Macaron's, my favourite combination in chocolate bars, there's something about the salty sweetness that becomes utterly addictive!
It was a given then that I'd have to try these, but I thought I'd adapt the brownie recipe for the Thermomix, to see how they'd turn out. You can find the original recipe on Ed's site.
It was a given then that I'd have to try these, but I thought I'd adapt the brownie recipe for the Thermomix, to see how they'd turn out. You can find the original recipe on Ed's site.
Salted Caramel Filling
175g caster sugar
150ml double cream
10g unsalted butter
large pinch of flaked sea salt OR
1/2 jar of Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel
Fudge Brownies
180g plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder (preferably Green and Blacks, which uses the 'Dutch' process)
1/4 tsp salt
300g dark chocolate, around 65-75% cocoa solids
150g unsalted butter
220g light brown sugar
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g pecans, chopped (optional extra, half inside the brownie, half on top)
Method
- I'm not going to make caramel today, and instead I'm using the jar - okay, stop shouting at me - I'm baking with the 4 year old and I don't like making caramel when he's climbing up the counters! If you want more information on the cooking temperatures for caramel, please have a look at my fudge post...
- For the brownies preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and line with a strip of parchment. Leave a 'handle' over the pan's edge to ease removal. [The Lakeland foiled parchment is perfect for this!]
- Pulse the butter and chocolate in the Thermomix bowl for 5 seconds / Speed 5, and scrape down the bowl.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together for 4 mins / Speed 1 / 70° C
- Add the eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar and mix for 10 seconds / Speed 3
- Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix for 10 seconds / Speed 4. Scrape down the bowl (inevitably some of the flour will have been thrown up), and repeat for a further 10 seconds.
- Pour half of the mixture into your prepared tin, and then pour the caramel over the batter, leaving a 1 1/2 cm border. Scatter the chopped pecans over the caramel if using... [I like the combination of pecans and salted chocolate, and I wanted some additional texture in the brownie.] Pour the remaining batter over the caramel mixture to cover it. Ed does this by piping it over, otherwise when you spread the second layer of batter you inevitably push the caramel out to the edge, where it can boil over the batter. Until I've perfected a cheats way, I suggest you pipe too...
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester or skewer (just) comes out cleanly (you don't want them overdone). Don't forget, the caramel will be scalding hot, so allow the brownies to cool fully before cutting into squares.
Alternatives:
- Scatter chocolate chips in on top of the caramel, and again over the surface before baking
- If like me you have thousands of blood oranges in your kitchen - don't waste the skin and oils - zest the oranges into the batter before using them.
- You can use chopped salted Brindisa's salted almonds - quite a grownup taste, but absolutely amazing. Pulse them for the briefest of moments in the thermo and set aside, before melting the chocolate and butter
- If you're a complete salt addict, you can use salted butter, but in that case, please remember to take the salt out of the other ingredients.
A couple of little brownie tips:
- If you've managed not to scoff the lot straight away, you can revive your brownies for around 20 seconds in the microwave; and
- A great little tip I spotted on the lovely Azelia's blog, if you have any type of cake which hasn't quite cooked through, you can finish them off for a few seconds in the microwave... As Azelia points out in her recent doughnut post, the microwave cooks from the inside out... Clever eh?
Now fend off your children and friends with a rolling pin...
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| Melting the chocolate and butter together |
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| This is the batter once mixing is completed - it's quite a thick batter |
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| Spoon the caramel over the batter, and scatter with pecans |
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| Cover with the remaining batter and bake |
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| Yummy! And I like the pecans in it! |
