These Caramel Brownies have gotta be the best batch of brownies I’ve ever made. They’re soft and fudgy, super chocolaty, with a decadent gooey miso caramel filling. But they’re not overly sweet or so rich to the point that your teeth hurt or you feel like you can’t take another bite. These brownies are ones you’ll want to come back for seconds!
Just writing about these now makes me want a piece of caramel brownies… Too bad they’re all gone! I did have a piece earlier this week with coffee for breakfast 😆 and it was 👌. Over the last couple months, I tested these several times and I know for a fact that my coworkers and my husband’s coworkers didn’t mind it one bit.
Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: Deep, dark chocolate brownies with a sweet caramel filling that bring a surprising hint of umami from the miso.
- TEXTURE: Soft and fudgy brownies with gooey caramel filling.
- EASE: Much easier than you might think!
Ingredients and testing notes
You’ll need 10 ingredients for this salted caramel brownies recipe, pictured below. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions in the recipe card.
Brown the butter
Ok hear me out, the brown butter flavor may not be super noticeable underneath all the chocolate and gooey caramel decadence. But I tested my favorite brownie recipe, plain, with melted butter and brown butter for comparison, and there is a subtle but definite difference in the flavor. The version with brown butter is more mellow and complex. Both are good, though I do think it’s worth the extra 8-10 minutes!
Add flour to caramel
The first few tests I did of this caramel brownies recipe, the caramel layer just melted completely into the brownie batter. It was still good, but there was no distinct caramel layer. Then I discovered this caramel cookie bar recipe. She added flour to her caramel and it seems to stay intact after baking.
I tried that and sure enough, some of the caramel still melted creating craters in the brownies surface but there is still a distinct layer of caramel left once cooled. I found that if you assemble the brownie in such a way that there is more brownie batter on top of the caramel, the caramel layer stays better, like only adding ⅔ of the brownie batter to the pan and saving the rest to add on top of the caramel layer. But then it becomes a bit more complicated to assemble.
Both ways resulted in delicious brownies. So you can’t go wrong here! One good thing about having those craters is that you can drizzle more caramel on top and it will fill those areas perfectly. Completely optional but visually stunning and yummy too.
Miso caramel substitution
If you don’t want to make miso caramel, I have a shortcut for you. You can use ½ cup of any caramel sauce (homemade or store bought, I tested it with this coconut caramel sauce!) along with 2 teaspoons of white miso paste as a substitute. Just mix it together before you fold in the flour. Don’t have caramel? Use dulce de leche!
I use Marukome premium white miso paste to make my miso caramel and many of my miso desserts. It doesn’t have a lot of sodium so you’ll get just a hint of savoriness. But if your miso paste is a little bit saltier, it can still work perfectly here for salted caramel brownies.
To close out, this is definitely an upgrade from the original recipe I made in 2017. I love it, all my taste testers loved it, and you will too!
Hungry for more?
Salted Miso Caramel Brownies Recipe
Equipment
- 8”x8” square baking pan
Ingredients
Miso caramel filling
- ½ cup (150 g) miso caramel
- 3 tablespoon (26 g) all-purpose flour
Dark chocolate brownies
- ¾ cup (101 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup (114 g) dark chocolate chips, 72% cocoa, divided
- 4 oz (113 g) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (24 g) cocoa powder, dutch-processed preferred
- 5 tablespoon (67 g) boiling water
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
Optional topping
- More miso caramel
- Flake sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare the baking pan – Brush melted butter all over an 8”x8” square baking pan. Line it with a piece of square parchment paper large enough to cover the bottom and the sides, fold excess parchment paper over the sides and use metal clips to secure if necessary.
- Mix dry ingredients together – Sift flour into a medium mixing bowl, stir in salt and ½ cup (86g) of dark chocolate chips. Set aside.¾ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅔ cup dark chocolate chips
- Prepare the caramel – In a small heatproof mixing bowl, warm the caramel up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds so it can flow freely. Fold in 3 tablespoons of flour until completely combined. Set aside.½ cup miso caramel, 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Brown the butter – Place the butter in a light colored saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will become foamy. When the foam subsides, you will see clear bubbles, start whisking continuously at this point to keep the milk solids from burning. When the butter is caramel in color and smells nutty, remove from heat and set aside, but don’t let it cool completely.4 oz unsalted butter
- Prepare brownie batter – In a large heatproof mixing bowl, add boiling water to cocoa powder and stir to dissolve completely.¼ cup cocoa powder, 5 tablespoon boiling water
- Add chocolate chips – Immediately add the remaining chocolate chips to the still warm cocoa powder mixture and stir to melt.⅔ cup dark chocolate chips
- Pour in brown butter – Slowly pour in warm brown butter, including the brown milk solid, and stir to incorporate. Any chocolates that haven’t melted in the previous step should melt completely now.
- Add eggs and vanilla – Add the egg, and egg yolk along with the vanilla extract, and beat until smooth.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add sugar – Add sugar and beat again until completely incorporated.¾ cup granulated sugar
- Incorporate dry ingredients – Add the dry ingredient mixture prepared earlier into the wet ingredients. Fold gently with a spatula until combined and no trace of flour remains.
- Assemble – Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared baking pan. Transfer caramel mixture to a pastry bag or ziploc bag, snip the corner, and pipe 16 caramel dots spaced evenly into the brownie batter. Using a small spatula or butter knife, drag the tip through the center of each dot in a straight line to incorporate the caramel slightly into the batter.
- Bake – Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Cool – Remove the brownie from the oven and let cool on a wire rack completely before cutting and serving.
- Serve – Cut into 16 squares, drizzle more caramel, and sprinkle flake sea salt on top if desired.More miso caramel, Flake sea salt
Notes
- Miso caramel substitution: you can use any caramel sauce (homemade or store bought), and stir in 2 teaspoons of white miso paste to make miso caramel. I use Marukome premium white miso paste.
- Storage: store your caramel brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Oh wow! I think this recipe with me. Brownies smothered in caramel? Yes please