Let’s face it – brownies are amazing. The world would be a dark place without them. The chewy, gooey slabs of chocolate and joy are some of our favourite things to make. Today our superstar brownies meet one of the all-time heavyweights of classic desserts – the crème brûlée.
It’s safe to say that the results aren’t bad. Intense dark chocolate brownie smothered with creamy vanilla frosting, finished off with a crispy golden topping. It’s a taste and texture sensation that I urge you to try!
The best thing about these slabs of splendour is that they are incredibly easy to make. If you have an electric mixer then that will save you even more time. The only other piece of equipment that’s advisable is a cook’s blowtorch. They’re becoming pretty affordable these days and have many non-crème brûlée uses (amazing for flame grilling a juicy steak).
We bought ours here from Amazon
The only real tip is to work quickly with your blowtorch as the frosting can begin to melt if you’re not careful. If you don’t possess a blowtorch (yet – do get one, they really are great!) then you can pop them under the grill for a minute or two. But make sure it’s super hot and had time to come to temperature.
Other than that – go for it and get baking! You (and all of your new friends) wont be disappointed!
Crème Brûlée Brownies
Ingredients
Brownie mixture
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 150 g dark chocolate (good quality)
- 200 g caster sugar
- 4 eggs (room temperature)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 75 g plain flour
- 25 g cocoa powder
Vanilla frosting
- 110 g unsalted butter
- 250 g icing sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
Topping
- 25 g demerara sugar (more if desired)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas 4. Break up the dark chocolate in to a bowl along with the unsalted butter. Put some boiling water into a saucepan on a low heat and rest the bowl on top. Gently melt the contents, stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture has melted.
- Put the sugar and eggs into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until thoroughly combined and the mixture is frothy.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the sugar and eggs and mix well until you can’t see any streaks of dark brown, this should take about a minute.
- Sift the flour and cocoa into the bowl. Gently stir into the chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon. Add the vanilla extract.
- Put the mixture into the prepared lined tin, I use a 20.5 x 30.5cm. Spread it out evenly, making sure it goes into the corners. Gently bang the tin on the work top to knock out the air. Carefully place the in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- While your brownies are cooking prepare your vanilla frosting. Using your electric mixer combine the icing sugar and unsalted butter until it forms a paste.
- Scrape the vanilla seeds out of your pod and add to your mixture, mix well.
- Take the brownies out of the oven and put a skewer in – if it comes out clean then they’re done. Let the brownies completely cool before putting a layer of frosting on.
- Sprinkle with demerara sugar and using a blowtorch lightly caramelise. If you do not have a blowtorch then put under a very hot grill for a minute or two.
- Cut up into squares, serve and enjoy!
Equipment used in this recipe:
Read next: 10 Deliciously Different Brownie Recipes That You MUST Try
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