Salt ‘n’ Pepper Brownies

After using the Bourbon Barrel Smoked Pepper in a savory biscuit two weeks ago, I really wanted to add this pepper and some fancy salt to something sweet.  I put my own little twist on this recipe!

Not only do I love this pepper but I love the Hawaii Kai’s Palm Island Black Lava Sea Salt that I get at Savory Spice.  This salt was perfect for topping these brownies.  They are topped with a caramel that I thinned a bit with water and when I poured it on while the brownies were still hot the caramel soaked into the brownies a bit.  Since I was really only using this caramel to make the salt stick to the brownies I wasn’t too sad about the sinking it caused.  I actually really liked the end result.

 

Salt ‘n’ Pepper Brownies

makes 16 rich and peppery brownies

 

1 c. unsalted butter, melted*

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 c. Black Onyx cocoa powder

2 1/2 t. bourbon barrel smoked pepper

1/2 t. baking powder

1 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (you can use extract but this paste is more flavorful)

1/2 t. salt

2 large eggs

6 oz. caramel melted

2 T. water

1/2 t. black lava sea salt for topping

 

*the Eats Well With Others Blog only used 1/2 c. butter but I doubled the butter because this batter was so thick I couldn’t even stir it without more butter.

Prepare an 8 x 8 inch glass baking pan by covering it with two strips (8 x 10 inch) of buttered parchment paper to make a plus sign.

Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine the flour, cocoa powders, black pepper, baking powder and salt, set aside.  Combine the sugar, vanilla bean paste and eggs and then whisk in the melted butter.  Combine this sugar mixture with the flour mixture, it will be quite thick.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until set.  While cooling, cut the caramel into 1 inch chunks and melt in a microwave proof bowl for 2 x 30 second intervals with the water.  Whisk and pour over the warm brownies.  Let it cool a few minutes and then sprinkle generously with the black lava sea salt.  I then refrigerated my brownies in the dish for several hours before removing the parchment paper and brownie square and slicing them with a sharp knife into 2 x 2 inch squares.

Posted on October 16, 2016
Posted in baking, chocolate, desserts