28 Feb Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle

In November last year, I was fortunate enough to visit the United States for the first time. I was invited to attend the Saveur Blog Awards in Memphis, being nominated in the Best Baking and Sweets Category. I was honoured to be included in a group of such talented and inspirational bloggers from around the world! It was also a great opportunity to check out all the delicious goodies one can buy in the US. I actually spent about 3 hours just wandering the aisles of a Walmart! The variety of items available is quite staggering.

In my quest to taste as many new treats as I could, I came across something very special – Brownie Brittle! Just like a brownie, the brittle has a rich chocolatey flavour, but instead of being soft and fudgy, the texture is crisp.  I immediately knew I had to find a way to copy the recipe so that back in South Africa, I could enjoy this tasty treat too!

Replicating the delicious chocolate flavour was the easy part, but getting that light, crisp texture was another story! After many attempts, I learned that using egg white in the batter is key. The other important step is to spread the batter nice and thin, and also allow the baked brittle to cool completely on the tray for extra crispiness. Adding some toffee bits and a sprinkle of sea salt gives the brittle a salted caramel flavour and a lovely touch of chewiness.

PS. To read more about what we got up to at the Saveur Blog Awards in Memphis (including watching a Duck March!) click here.

Ingredients:

50g milk chocolate
60g butter
45ml milk
75g brown sugar
75g icing sugar
45ml cocoa
75g flour
2,5ml bicarbonate of soda
5ml vanilla
1 large egg white

About 7 toffees
5ml sea salt flakes

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C and grease and line 2 large baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
• Melt the chocolate and butter together (either in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water). Once melted, stir in the milk then set aside to cool.
• Sift together the sugar, icing sugar, flour, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the melted chocolate mixture and mix well.
• Beat the egg white and vanilla until just foamy, then add to the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
• Divide the mixture between the 2 baking sheets, using a palette knife to spread thinly. The mixture should be about 4-5mm thick, and should not fill the trays as it will still spread a little.
• Chop up the toffees into small pieces (I found this easier to do after freezing the toffees) and sprinkle the pieces over the brownie mixture.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, then sprinkle with the salt flakes. Allow to cool completely on the tray.
• Once cooled, break the brownie brittle into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.