Fudgy Caramel Layered Brownies

My Caramel Brownies are rich, fudgy, and filled with smooth buttery caramel that melts into every bite. They have a texture that sits somewhere between chewy and soft. And yes. They have that glossy brownie top that everyone is obsessed with!

Hey team, Nick here. I’ve always wanted to have a caramel brownie recipe on the site, but I wanted a version where the caramel stayed put. Not runny or sticky, just a clean silky layer that looks neat when sliced and gives that perfect mix of textures.

Everything bakes in one tin, they slice up perfectly and they’ve quickly earned a spot in my brownie collection.

The caramel in these brownies comes from my millionaire shortbread recipe because it sets beautifully without hardening. It’s layered between my deeply chocolate brownie base, the same one I use for my cosmic brownies, so the combination is rich balanced and indulgent.

Related – I have an entire section of caramel recipes on the site but the one caramel recipe I keep coming back to are my soft and moist salted caramel cupcakes. They have a chocolate base too, so if you love these, you’ll love those

The caramel that worked in my testing!

I set myself a simple goal for these brownies: A soft, fudgy caramel layer that you could see when you sliced into the brownies. And one that was easy to make too! 

Nothing annoys me more than oozy caramel or caramel that basically melts into the brownie. What’s the point?

• What I tried – I tried a thicker version of my caramel sauce, but that melted right into the brownies. I thought about using my caramel chews, but they’d make the recipe too fussy and time-consuming for something meant to be easy.
• What worked – The answer came from a recipe I already had on the website. Actually, it’s one that I’ve used in my chocolate caramel tart, caramel slice and millionaire bars. It takes 10 minutes to make and sets beautifully without hardening or melting into the brownies. I added a pinch more salt in this one to balance the sweetness and in the end I got a clean and perfectly set caramel layer!

Preparing your baking tin

• Rub a stick of cold butter on the bottom and sides of a 23cm / 9-inch square baking tin. Then line the bottom and sides with baking paper.
• Add another large piece of baking paper on top of the lined baking tin. You don’t need to be precious here it’s just to keep the caramel layer in place as it cools and sets.

TIP: Leave some overhand so that you can easily lift the baked brownies out. I like using bulldog clips to keep the paper in place.

Making the caramel layer

• Add butter, brown sugar, golden syrup, and sweetened condensed milk to a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until melted and smooth.
• Keep stirring as it gently bubbles for 8 minutes until thickened and slightly darker.

• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth out the top.
• Let it cool at room temperature, then freeze for 2 hours until firm.

Tip: Don’t skip the cooling step! It’ll make handling the caramel layer easier and give you that nice defined layered look!

How to make the chocolate brownie layer

• Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Whisk in cocoa powder to bloom and deepen the flavor. Let cool to room temp.
• Beat eggs, sugars, vanilla and salt using until pale and fluffy. I like using an electric hand beater.

• Fold in the cooled chocolate mixture, then the flour using a spatula until no dry ingredients are showing.

Layering it together

• Take the chilled and set caramel layer out of the baking tin and set aside.
• Add 1/2 of the brownie layer into the baking tin. It works out to be about 420g of brownie batter. Spread evenly across the lined baking tin.

• Add the caramel layer on top.
• Pour the rest of the brownie batter on top and spread evenly. You want to bake these brownies for 30-35 minutes. The edges of the brownies will puff up. That’s when you know the brownies are done. Let the brownies cool completely at room temp. 

How I think you should slice your brownies

Listen, if you want super clean cuts, chill the baked and cooled brownies in the fridge for 2-3 hours and then slice. Make sure you wipe the knife clean after each slice.

My problem with that is the brownies look almost like a solid piece of fudge. I like my brownies to look more like a dense fudgy chocolate cake.

How I like to do it – The only way to get that look is to slice when the brownies are room temp. Again, you’ll need to wipe the knige after each slice!