Special Guest Chef – Cooking in Stilettos

I was THRILLED when Lys, the author of Cooking in Stilettos, agreed to share a recipe with the Duluth Superior Magazine readers. You can check out Lys’ wonderful culinary delights and kitchen fashion tips on her blog.  When you visit Cooking in Stilettos you will find amazing recipes along with Lys’ fun contests to win cookbooks and other great kitchen prizes.  Thank you Lys for sharing your culinary talents with Duluth Superior Magazine, meanwhile I am digging out my favorite shoes to wear while I cook up these decadent caramel brownies!

Caramel Brownies With Smoked Sea Salt – Ultimate Decadence

The haute ingredient lately has been sea salt and the trend has focused on the sweet blending with the savory.  My wallet and waistline tends to go into cardiac arrest if I see some chocolates with sea salt but I cannot resist the flavor of the decadent chocolate with a small smattering of sea salt, which just brings out the flavor.

When I saw Sur La Table had chocolate caramels with smoked sea salt, I pulled a Rachel Zoe and thought, “I. Die!”  There is something about the combination of SMOKED sea salt that provided a bit of inspiration.  However, the price of $12.00 for only a few caramels had my wallet on life support.  An alternative option is purchasing some Maldon smoked sea salt for $4.00 as the ingredients for homemade brownies and caramel were already in the pantry.

One other disclosure is that I often like making brownies from a box mix, however to achieve the true measure of luxury, I felt that nothing but homemade will do.  While it is a bit labor intensive, the result will have you thinking of possibly refusing to share these goodies with even those closest to you.

Caramel Brownies with Smoked Sea Salt

Ingredients:

For the Brownies:

• 3/4 Cup Butter, softened
• 1 1/4 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4  teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk

For the Caramel:

• 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/3 cup half-and-half or light cream
• 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon smoked sea salt

Directions:

For the Caramel:

1. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar and cornstarch.
2. Stir in the water.
3. Add the smoked sea salt to the half-and-half and stir to dissolve.
4. Add the half-and-half, butter and corn syrup.
5. Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
7. Let cool.

For the Brownies:

1. Melt the butter (either on the stove or in the microwave).
2. Grease a 15×10 baking pan and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Add the cocoa powder and sugar to the butter and stir until combined.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time.  Follow that with the vanilla.
6. Beat the ingredients lightly until combined.
7. In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
8. Combine the flour mixture and the milk with the chocolate mixture, taking care to alternate the flour and milk.
9. Pour batter into a prepared baking pan.  Bake for 7 minutes and immediately remove from the oven.

10.  Add the prepared caramel, taking care to reserve a tablespoon or two and swirl the prepared caramel over the top of the partially baked brownie mixture.

11.  Return the brownie mixture to the oven.

12.  Bake for another 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.

13.  Drizzle the reserved caramel over the top and add a small sprinkling of smoked sea salt.

14.  Cool for an hour or two and cut into small squares.