Made with semisweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and milk chocolate chunks, my fudgy Triple Chocolate Gourmet Brownies with Caramel are a chocoholic’s dream come true. These loaded brownies are not only abounding with chocolatey goodness, but they’re also topped with a homemade salted caramel sauce for an exceptionally satisfying treat.
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About This Recipe
While I’m a fan of just about any type of brownie you put in front of my face, I happen to prefer the soft, squidgy variety. These triple chocolate gourmet brownies are exceptionally fudgy. They’re so dense and tender that they begin to melt as soon as they hit your tongue!
Now, I know three types of chocolate is already pretty impressive for a brownie recipe, but since I’m calling these bad boys gourmet, it only felt right to go the extra mile. I like to top these brownies with caramel sauce and add a few flakes of finishing salt because they’re fancy!
(Of course, the caramel is entirely optional. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making your own salted caramel sauce, you can absolutely take a shortcut by buying a jar from the store instead.)
If you’re concerned that such a delectable, impossibly decadent brownie recipe will simply take too long to achieve, let me calm your fears! This easy recipe takes just about 10 minutes of active work before popping them in the oven. The really hard part comes when you have to be patient enough for them to bake and cool!
Looking for more chocolate recipes to try! Start with this One Pan Double Chocolate Cake, or these Chocolate Cacao Nib Cream Donuts, and finally some delicious Ultimate Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Considering the exquisitely rich flavor of these gourmet brownies with caramel, you may be surprised to find that there isn’t a laundry list of ingredients involved. Here’s what you’ll need to gather when making for the chocolate lovers in your life:
Melted & Wet Ingredients:
- Semisweet Chocolate - I suggest a minimum of 55% cocoa content for a nice, rich flavor. If you’re more of a dark chocolate fan, feel free to reach for bittersweet chocolate around 70-85% cocoa instead.
- Unsalted Butter - Organic, grass-fed, and/or cultured butter will generally yield better flavor in your baked goods than regular butter. If you are dairy-free, simply opt for a plant-based butter substitute.
- Egg & Egg Yolks - Using more yolks than whole eggs means you’re incorporating more fat into the batter. Why does that matter? Well, if you’re a fan of fudgy brownies, this is the easiest way to achieve the perfect texture!
- Neutral Oil - Neutral oils are the ones that don’t have a particularly strong flavor profile. Think peanut, avocado, canola, grapeseed, or even refined coconut oil if you prefer.
- Greek Yogurt - These gourmet brownies are meant to be decadent, so steer clear of the non-fat varieties. If possible, opt for 4-5% milkfat. You can also feel free to swap in sour cream, or any plant-based alternatives here too.
- Vanilla Extract - Vanilla paste or powder can easily be substituted here.
Dry Ingredients & Inclusions:
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar - If you have to choose only one kind of sugar, I suggest reaching for dark brown sugar here. The flavor is deeply caramelly and robust, helping to emphasize the deep dark chocolatey goodness we’re going for in our chocolate caramel brownies.
- All-Purpose Flour - There’s not a ton of flour in this recipe, which leads me to believe it would be a good candidate for substituting your favorite cup-for-cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend if needed. If you do make the swap, let me know how it turns out in the comments below!
- Black Cocoa Powder - If you like dark chocolate, you’re going to LOVE black cocoa powder. Similar to dutch-process cocoa powder, this variety has been heavily alkalized to reveal extra smooth (non-bitter) notes of unsweetened chocolate. It also gives these fudgy triple chocolate brownies a deep, dark color that looks like a bar of dark chocolate!
- Kosher Salt - If you don’t have any on hand, check out this salt conversion chart to sub in sea salt, table salt, or other varieties in the proper amounts.
- Milk Chocolate - Make sure to reach for high-quality milk chocolate chips or chocolate bars that you chop into chunks for these homemade brownies. Guittard, Ghiradelli, Valhrona, Scharffen Berger, and Lindt all fit the bill for rich chocolate flavor.
- Salted Caramel Sauce - Optional, but delicious. I have a soft spot for this homemade version, but feel free to use store-bought instead.
Equipment
You’ll be pleased to note that you don’t need to haul out your stand mixer for this decadent chocolate brownie recipe! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Double Boiler - All you need to make a double boiler with your existing kitchen equipment is a heat-proof bowl and a small or medium-sized saucepan that the bowl can rest on. Fill the pan with about an inch of simmering water and place the bowl on top. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water or your chocolate will turn grainy.
- 8x8-inch Square Pan - If you don’t have the right sized pan on hand, check out this handy conversion chart.
- Parchment Paper - This is hands down the easiest way to ensure your brownies, cakes, blondies, and cookies release from their pans without leaving chunks of crumbs behind.
- Mesh Strainer or Sifter - You don’t need a dedicated sifter to sift dry ingredients. Just grab your mesh strainer, add the dry ingredients, and stir to push them through the mesh. Voila!
How To Make Gourmet Brownies
Making my gourmet triple chocolate brownies is actually quite easy. Here’s how it’s done:
Preparing the Brownie Batter
PREP: Pre heat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 inch pan, then line with parchment.
MELT: Melt the butter and semisweet chocolate together in a double boiler made with a medium saucepan over low heat, taking care not to overheat by mixing throughout the process. Once melted, remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool until the temperature is lukewarm.
WET INGREDIENTS: Whisk together the egg, egg yolks, oil, greek yogurt and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Mix in the chocolate and butter combination then add sugars and whisk to combine in the mixing bowl.
DRY INGREDIENTS: Sift the all-purpose flour and black cocoa powder into the bowl with wet ingredients and add kosher salt. Fold everything together until the flour mixture has been incorporated before adding chocolate chips and folding once more with a spatula.
Baking, Cooling and Serving
BAKE: Pour the chocolate mixture into a prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 23-25 minutes - you should see that the tops of the brownies are no longer wet, but still quite soft when you gently press on them.
COOL & CUT: Remove the luscious brownies from the oven and let them cool for about 20 minutes before cutting into squares and enjoying. If you prefer extra sharp edges, allow the brownies to cool further in the fridge for about an hour on a wire rack before cutting!
ADD CARAMEL (OPTIONAL): After cutting your cooled brownies, swipe a little Homemade Salted Caramel on top of the brownies and sprinkle with some flaky sea salt. Perhaps you also want to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream? Now THAT’S what I call gourmet!
Optional Variations
These gourmet triple chocolate brownies are an utter delight just the way they are, but there are lots of opportunities to customize them to your liking. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:
- Loaded Brownies - You already have 3 kinds of chocolate and some salted caramel going for you, but why not add the rest of the kitchen sink? Add-ins can include toasted chopped nuts, different kinds of chocolate chips or chunks, or even seemingly weird ingredients like potato chips or breakfast cereal. Feel free to go wild!
- Dairy-Free Brownies - Simply swap the butter and greek yogurt for plant-based alternatives, and opt for any kind of vegan chocolate as your mix-in.
- Flavored Chocolate - An easy way to spice up your brownies is by reaching for flavored chocolates. Perhaps spicy Aztec chocolate or raspberry chocolate would be preferable to plain milk chocolate chunks? Go with your gut and have fun!
Expert Tips
Making a stellar batch of gourmet brownies isn’t as hard as you might think. That said, I do have a few tips to make sure your baking experience is as sublime as your end product:
- Be choosy with your chocolate. Since the primary feature of these triple chocolate brownies is CHOCOLATE, make sure you’re getting the best available. If you’re shopping at the grocery store, I generally find that bar chocolate is superior to what you can find in bagged chocolate chip form. That said, Callebaut, Guittard and Ghiradelli are excellent quality chips.
- Eggs are easier to separate when they’re cold… Yolks are less likely to break when they are cold, so I recommend separating them when they are fresh out of the fridge.
- …but should be room temperature for making brownie batter. That said, chocolate is quite temperamental and has a tendency to seize if temperatures fluctuate too much too quickly. Make sure to give the eggs about 30 minutes at room temp before adding to the batter.
- Cut when cool. You’ll get the neatest, cleanest, most professional-looking brownie pieces if you take the time to chill them well. Let them hang out in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Once they are room temp, pop them in the fridge for about an hour or in the freezer for about 15 minutes before cutting with a very sharp knife.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since these are exceptionally fudgy, chewy brownies, the normal wooden toothpick test or skewer method will give false results. The tops of the brownies should be set, but still have quite a bit of give underneath in the center of the brownies. If you’re feeling scientific, shoot for an internal temp of 180-190F with an instant read thermometer so that your gooey brownies turn out perfectly!
Absolutely, but I always recommend seeking out Dutch-processed cocoa powder no matter what. Black cocoa powder is more of a specialty ingredient that has been extra dutched, but plain Dutch-process cocoas will work perfectly well.
Since these triple chocolate bad boys are so dang fudgy, I suggest skipping the frosting and opting for a swipe of Homemade Salted Caramel instead. If you add frosting, I think the texture will be a little too one-note, whereas the salty, sticky punch of the caramel is a welcome addition.
More Chocolate-Heavy Recipes
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try this recipe for my Triple Chocolate Gourmet Brownies with Caramel, please leave a review or share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Triple Chocolate Gourmet Brownies With Caramel
Equipment
Ingredients
Triple Chocolate Brownies
- 5 ounces (140 g) Semisweet chocolate , roughly chopped
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) Unsalted butter
- 1 Egg, large
- 2 Egg yolks, large
- ½ cup (112 g) Neutral oil, avocado, canola
- ¼ cup (50 g) Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- ½ cup (100 g) Granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) Brown Sugar, packed
- 1 cup (120 g) All-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (21 g) Black cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup (130 g) Milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
Homemade Caramel
- 1 ¼ Cup (250 g) Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup (180 g) Heavy Cream
- 4 Tablespoons (56 g) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- Flakey Sea Salt, optional
Instructions
Triple Chocolate Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8x8 inch pan then line with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler over low heat, taking care not to overheat by mixing throughout the process. Once melted, remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool until the temperature is lukewarm.5 ounces Semisweet chocolate, 6 tablespoons Unsalted butter
- Whisk together the egg, egg yolks, oil, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Mix in the chocolate and butter combination then add sugars and whisk to combine.1 Egg, 2 Egg yolks, ½ cup Neutral oil, ¼ cup Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoons Vanilla extract, ½ cup Granulated sugar, ½ cup Brown Sugar
- Sift the all-purpose flour and black cocoa powder into the bowl with wet ingredients and add kosher salt. Fold everything together until the flour has been incorporated before adding chocolate and folding once more with a spatula.1 cup All-purpose flour, ¼ cup Black cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1 cup Milk chocolate
- Bake the brownies for 23-25 minutes - you should see that the tops of the brownies are no longer wet, but still quite soft when you gently press on them.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool for about 20 minutes before cutting into squares and enjoying. If you prefer extra sharp edges, allow the brownies to cool further in the fridge for about an hour before cutting!
Homemade Caramel
- Pour the sugar into a saucepan, and over medium-high heat, allow the sugar to slowly melt and eventually shift in color to a deep amber-brown color.1 ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- Add the cream and butter to the sugar – expect the ingredients to bubble and foam for about 30 seconds or so. Then, over low heat, continue to melt down any large bits of caramel until the mixture is completely fluid and smooth before removing from heat.¾ cup Heavy Cream, 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Pour caramel into a glass container and allow to cool completely before adding to the top of brownies and top with flakey sea salt!Flakey Sea Salt
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