Decadent and delicious! Dark chocolate brownies are topped with sweet caramel enrobed cornflakes!
This might be one of the most decadent bakes I’ve ever made. Seriously. This one isn’t for the fainthearted, and definitely not for a low-calorie day…! Caramel meets cornflakes meets dark chocolate brownies. And they are BIG.
I’d seen a few variations of these online and in bakeries but never actually tried them myself. Which in my opinion was a travesty! So I set to work making my own version. The base is my favourite brownie – which I used on my delicious Butterscotch Tahini Brownies…if you haven’t already made these then you NEED to. Honestly they’re delicious.
The topping however is a new combination for me. Caramel mixed with cornflakes. It sounds so simple, but oh my is it delicious. When I think of cornflakes in a bake, its usually smothered in chocolate for an Easter treat! But caramel? Its a whole new level of delicious.
Lets get into the detail of these beauties then. You’ll need to make the brownie first, and though its pretty straight-forward, here’s a few tips:
- Chop your chocolate EXTREMELY finely. You’ll be pouring the melted butter over the chopped chocolate and stirring till its melted. And though melted butter is hot, it’s gonna struggle to break down a big chunk of chocolate. So chop finely to give yourself and the butter a helping hand!
- Don’t be tempted to overbake! Nobody wants a dry brownie. Remember, when you test the middle of a brownie, your utensil should still be a little wet.
- Make sure you wait until the brownie is completely cool before you add your caramel cornflake topping. This will help you a lot when it comes to cutting!
Next up, is (in my opinion) the star of the show. The caramel cornflake topping. I could just eat a bowl of this stuff….I’m already thinking what other recipes I can include it in! You start with a dry caramel, add in cream, butter, vanilla and salt. Then pour in your cornflakes and stir until its a deliciously golden mess.
Now the big question that’s alwayssss asked:
Can you stir a dry caramel?
The short answer is yes! I might do a whole post about caramel as I use it in so many of my bakes, but heres the medium answer:
A dry caramel – i.e. just sugar in a pan, melted until it turns a deep gold colour – is super easy to make, but also much easier to burn. However, you can stir to your hearts content, as with no water, there’s no potential for crystallisation.
Crystallisation can occur in a ‘wet’ caramel – as this is made with sugar and water. When you place the sugar and water over heat, the sugar dissolves into the water creating a sugar syrup. As the syrup begins to cook, the water begins to evaporate, meaning that it holds more sugar molecules than the water can hold. This then makes the sugar want to re-crystallise i.e. turn into hard lumps – not a delicious caramel.
But what’s stirring got to do with that, I hear you cry? WELL, stirring the wet caramel can encourage the sugar molecules to clump together giving them more opportunity to crystallise. So as a rule, swirling the pan instead is much easier and less risky!
So there we have it. Delicious caramel covered cornflakes that are chewy and crunchy all in one. Tops a deliciously decadent dark chocolate brownie. Perfectly complementing the sweet topping! I hope you love these too 🙂
On with the recipe!
Caramel Cornflake Crunch Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 175 g unsalted butter
- 265 g golden caster sugar
- 200 g plain flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
Caramel
- 300 g caster sugar
- 200 ml double cream
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 125 g cornflakes
Instructions
- For the brownies: Grease and line an 8x8inch square tin and preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6.
- Then finely chop the chocolate and place into a large bowl. Melt the butter and pour over the chocolate, stirring until completely melted. Then mix in the sugar and stir to combine. Then the flour and salt, again stirring to combine. Finally add the eggs and stir to combine.
- Pour into your prepared baking tin, spreading evenly. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. (The usual knife test doesn’t work for brownies, as they should still be gooey inside when baked. But if you have a digital food thermometer the inside temperature should be above 80C.) Leave to cool completely in their tin.
- For the caramel: Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and put over a medium-high heat. Stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar melts evenly, cook until your caramel is a golden-amber colour. Then take off the heat and stir in the cream, butter, salt and vanilla – the mixture will bubble up violently so be careful. Place back on the heat and cook until the caramel reaches 118C on a food thermometer. (This will take around 10 minutes)
- Once your caramel has reached the correct temperature, take off the heat and stir in your cornflakes. Making sure all the cornflakes are evenly covered. Then pour onto the cooled brownie base, and spread evenly. Leave to cool completely before cutting.
Can you please post the American measurements for this recipe? Thank you! Theresa
Hi Theresa,
As American measurements are not as accurate as grams, I wouldn’t advise using them – especially for something like caramel, when I haven’t myself tested it. However, there are lots of weight converters online if you’d really like to try it yourself!
Aimee x
Hi
I tried your recipe and I loved it
My only concern is how to keep the cornflakes Carmel topping crunchy and not become tooo gooie
Hi Rachana,
I’m so pleased you loved the brownies! In my opinion, the caramel topping is best when its gooey! 😉 But you could pop them into the fridge if you’d prefer it a little firmer!
Thanks, Aimee
Hi Aimee,
How long could these be made in advance? And how well would they keep in an airtight container do you think?
Thanks
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
You could definitely make these the day before serving, and they would still be really delicious! In an airtight container I would keep them for 4-5 days.
I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
Aimee
Hey Aimee, thanks for the recipe. I made these last night and the caramel cornflake topping has set way too hard to bite into! I had to flip the brownie over to cut it from the bottom as I couldn’t get a knife into it. I didn’t put them in the fridge either I just dried them at room temp. Any idea what’s gone wrong?
Hi Laura,
Thanks for trying my recipe 🙂 It seems like the sugar was cooked for a little too long at to high a temperature. The longer its cooked the higher the temperature will get, which will cause it to harden more! So if you try it again I would try cooking the sugar for less time/at a slightly lower heat.
I hope that helps!
Aimee x
I had the same issue. The flavor was amazing, but the cornflake topping was too hard. I used a candy thermometer too. About how long should the caramel take from the time you add the cream and butter? I’ll try it again though!
i just got my oven today and this is the first thing i want to try!
i don’t have a food thermometer, how to tell if my caramel is done?
Hey Aimee
Would this recipe work if using the ready made caramel?
Hi Sonia,
So sorry for my delayed response!
I haven’t tried it myself with ready made caramel, but I am not sure it would work as well, as the caramel needs to ‘set’ to stick to the brownie base.
Would love to know how you got on if you tried it though!
Aimee x
Can I make this recipe without a thermometer ?
Hi Emma, apologies for the delayed reply!
But unfortunately a thermometer is really essential here to ensure the caramel is the correct consistency. A food thermometer is a really great tool to have for many bakes, so I recommend adding one to your kit if you’re making alot of caramel recipes.
Aimee x
Just made this, it has turnt out great! Lovely recipe 😊