Fleur de Sel Caramel Brownies

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place parchment paper in a 13×9″ glass baking pan and set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once butter is completely melted, remove from heat and add the chocolate chips and baking chocolate. Stir until all chocolate is melted. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add a little bit of the cooled chocolate to the egg mixture, and stir. Continue adding the entire chocolate mixture, whisking gently as you pour. Set aside.

Using a separate small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add this mix to the other chocolatey bowl, and stir with a wooden spoon. Once mixture is thoroughly combined, pour into the baking pan, and evenly spread with the spoon.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean. Cool completely. They will look wrinkly, and that’s okay.

For the caramel topping, in a separate tall saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place over medium-high heat. Boil sugar, occasionally swirling the pot and scraping down sides with a wet pastry brush. Do not stir though, as sugar boils and reaches a dark amber color, about 12 minutes.

Don’t walk away from this. The next part needs to happen quickly. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in cream, butter, and 2 teaspoons salt until smooth. Pour over cooled brownies and sprinkle with remaining fleur de sel. Allow brownies to set for 1 hour, or as long as you can wait.

Once cool, transfer brownies to a cutting board and peel back the parchment. Cut into shapes and serve.

Fleur de Sel Caramel Topping recipe adapted from: Amelie’s French Bakery, recipe posted on this site: http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Home-Garden/October-2009/Salted-Caramel-Brownies/