With a river of caramel running through the middle of each one, these chocolate caramel brownies are next-level goodness. Gooey, chewy and indulgent, my cheats caramel is just 2 ingredients and you can have these in the oven in less than 20 minutes.
The brownie base is amazing. It has the perfect crackly top and just the right amount of gooey and fudgy whilst also holding it’s shape. With a good hit of caramel they are also seriously addictive.
For more favourite brownies, try these brownie blondies and these triple chocolate brownies.
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There are different types of brownies, from fudgy to cakey to gooey brownies just like these. While my favourites are either fudgy or gooey, even the cakey style have their place.
This caramel chocolate brownies recipe is one I now adapt for all my brownie recipes. It makes a perfect fudgy brownie, ready for add-ins, like these Fererro Rocher brownies or a great base for topping like these fudgy marshmallow brownies or my chocolate coconut brownies.
Ingredients & substitutions
Most of the ingredients in these caramel stuffed brownies are self-explanatory but some benefit from a little explanation.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Caramel: This recipe starts with my cheats caramel which is a simple combination of chewy store-bought caramels and cream. I like Werthers chewy caramels best but Kraft caramels will work too. There are other options for the caramel though;
- If you want to get extra creative, make this homemade caramel sauce,
- Or you can use a store-bought caramel sauce (like Bonne Maman),
- The ratio of caramel to brownie will change but you can use caramel-filled chocolate like Rolos or Cadbury Caramello.
- Chocolate: Use a dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate with anywhere from 50%-70% cocoa solids.
- Dutch processed cocoa – I use this mainly for its dark colour in this recipe so you can absolutely swap it out for standard unsweetened cocoa.
Variations
- You can swap the caramel for Biscoff spread, peanut butter or Nutella too.
- Turn them into salted caramel brownies by stirring some salt into your caramel to taste.
- You could add in some dark/semi-sweet chocolate chips for even more chocolate flavor.
- Try adding some nuts like pecans or walnuts for some crunch.
How to make chocolate caramel brownies
No box mixes here because they’re so quick you don’t need them. I love simple recipes like this. You can get all the dry ingredients mixed together and stored in your pantry ready to go at a moments notice. Ok, so with this recipe, having a mix ready to go will only save you 5 minutes, but 5 minutes is 5 minutes. Especially when chocolate is involved.
Making caramel brownies from scratch means you get to control what goes into them and they are truly easy to do. There is no need to par-bake a base, just mix up the batter then layer it right in the tin before baking.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Make the caramel
Either make a homemade caramel sauce or make my cheats caramel (per the recipe card below). Just combine chewy caramels and cream in a pan over low heat and stir until smooth. Set that aside to cool before making the brownie batter.
2. Make the brownie batter
Start by melting together chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Next, beat the sugar and eggs together until really light and fluffy then pour in the butter and chocolate mixture.
Gently stir it all together until almost fully combined.
Next, add the dry ingredients and again, very gently fold them through.
3. Assemble and bake
Spread ⅓ of the batter into the base of a prepared tin, then make little dents all over. Pour over the caramel, right to the edges. Lots of it will settle into those dents.
Now, dollop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the caramel (this makes it easier to spread).
Once you’ve dropped all the batter over the caramel, gently spread it out so that you don’t disturb the caramel layer. Now just bake the brownies for around 25 minutes until just cooked through.
Storage
Once sliced, these brownies are best stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- A few minutes out of the fridge, the caramel is still chewy.
- At room temperature, the caramel will soften a bit and may start to ooze down the sides.
Both ways taste amazing so pick whichever way appeals to you most. You could even warm them up and serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for extra decadence.
You can also freeze these chocolate caramel brownies for up to 3 months. Start by putting the cooled brownies on a baking tray in the freezer until they’re solid. For best results, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, then place them in an airtight container or zip lock bag.
I think that’s enough talking for today because you have some caramel filled brownies to make. Believe me, these will disappear quickly.
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Ingredients
- 200 g store-bought soft caramels (Werthers/Kraft) (7oz) (or caramel sauce, notes 2)
- 1 ½ tablespoons thickened cream (heavy cream) (6 tsp, notes 1)
- 85 g unsalted butter (¾ stick / 3oz)
- 85 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) , roughly chopped, (3oz)
- ⅔ cup granulated white sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs , room temp
- 98 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (¾ cup)
- 25 g Dutch processed cocoa powder (or regular unsweetened) (¼ cup / ~1oz)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- handheld electric beater
- silicone spatula so you don't leave any batter behind 😊
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Grease and line an 8×8 inch square baking tin with baking paper.
- Over low heat and stirring constantly, melt together the caramels and cream in a saucepan until smooth. Set aside. You can also use the microwave, heating in 30 second increments at 80% power, stirring well between each until done.
- Place the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each until melted and smooth. Set aside.
- Place both sugars and the eggs in a large bowl. Beat with a handheld mixer for around 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy (or in a stand mixer with paddle attachment for 3-5 minutes)
- Add the melted butter and chocolate mixture and stir through with a spatula.
- Sift over the plain flour, cocoa and salt and stir through with a spatula until just combined.
- Spread half the brownie batter into the prepared pan and make a few dents with a spoon (where the caramel can pool).
- Drizzle the caramel all over letting it pool in the dents (if it's no longer runny, heat it very slightly until it's just pourable).
- Drop spoonfuls of the remaining half of the brownie mixture all over (it's hard to spread so dropping it randomly is easier) then just lightly spread to cover the caramel.
- Bake for around 24-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with some sticky crumbs on it (see notes).
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.Cream in this recipe is for 6 teaspoons.
- Caramel: If you don’t want to make the cheats caramel in the recipe, you can make the real thing. Use this homemade caramel recipe and let it cool to room temperature before you use it in the brownies. You’ll need about ¾ cup.
- You can use regular unsweetened cocoa if you can’t get dutch processed.
- Brownies are done when a toothpick comes out with a few sticky crumbs on it. They will carry-over bake in the tin.
- Toothpick comes out with wet mix – not done
- Toothpick comes out with sticky crumbs – DONE
- Toothpick comes out with no mix or crumbs – overdone (save these for serving with ice cream – yum)
- Serving: These brownies are best served 5-10 minutes after taking out the of the fridge.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge
- Freezing: Freeze the brownies on a baking tray until solid, then wrap individually in plastic wrap, place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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8 Comments on “Chocolate Caramel Brownies”
These look absolutely amazing as a decadent treat. There’s a lot to drool over here. Best, Pauline (Happy Retirees Kitchen)
Thanks, Pauline. Truly appreciate it.
I really don’t like dark chocolate. What can I use as a substitute?
Hi Hope. Don’t worry, they don’t taste like dark chocolate. It’s important to balance the sweetness of the brownies overall. If you use a 50% cocoa solids chocolate, they’ll still be have balance but be slightly sweeter than the 70%.
Absolutely agree to Leanne. Printing this one to add to the baking list in my kitchen 🙂
Aww thank you so much 🙂
After you posted these on IG, I had to check out your recipe! They look amazing Marie! Brownies are great on their own, but adding a layer of caramel makes them irresistible!
Thanks so much Leanne. Being a total caramel addict, it totally tops off a good fudgy brownie for me 🙂