These super fudgy chocolate brownies are baked with homemade caramel and honeycomb candy. These brownies only take 25 minutes to make and look so impressive with the honeycomb!
I originally made this recipe for Bonfire Night. Guy Fawkes Night is the anniversary of the failed attempt at blowing up the House of Lords. Now it is an excuse to have a bonfire, fireworks, and some delish food - like these honeycomb and caramel brownies! When I was having a think about what foods remind me of bonfires, I automatically thought of Crunchie - the honeycomb toffee candy bar covered in chocolate. But these brownies are a year round treat!
Tell me about these brownies!
- Texture: these are fudgy and chewy brownies - no cakey brownies here! These brownies don't have a leavener (like baking soda or baking powder) which is how I keep them so tender. The honeycomb on top gives them a great crunch.
- Flavour: these brownies are super rich and chocolatey, with puddles of caramel on top and then the sweet honeycomb on top.
- How easy are these? With making the caramel shards, this recipe will need a little bit of work but it's worth it. Making your own caramel isn't too tricky as long as you keep an eye on it.
- Time: this recipe takes about 25 minutes to prep.
Tips on making chewy brownies
Chewy and fudgy brownies are definitely my fave! This is really similar to the base recipe from my rocky road brownies, just cut in half for an 8x8 pan. These brownies are so simple to make:
- Melt the butter and chocolate on top of a double boiler until completely smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Whisk together the eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla together until smooth. The egg yolk gives structure to the brownie.
- Whisk the flour and salt. I replace some of the flour with cocoa powder to keep these brownies more chewy and less cakey.
- Pour the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Pour in the flour and salt. Carefully fold in the flour and make sure there are no flour pockets. Overmixing would lead to tougher brownies!
How to make caramel shards
One of the best parts of the honeycomb and caramel brownies is making caramel shards! While it might look super fancy on the finished brownie, it is really easy to do. I've seen a few methods of making caramel shards but this one from Violet Bakery is the easiest.
Get a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You'll then melt water with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and let the sugar dissolve. Make sure you don't swish the pan around or you'll end up with crystallised sugar around the edges. Once all the sugar has dissolved, you can turn up the heat to medium and let the mixture turn to a dark amber.
Pour the caramel on to the parchment paper, and using an offset spatula make sure it isn't too thick and is an even layer. You'll have to work quickly! You can then let it cool completely, and use a knife to cut the shards. I kept my shards that weren't used in the recipe in a ziplock bag on the counter overnight and they held up.
Sprinkle the shards on top of the brownie batter just before you put it in the oven, this will turn into puddles of caramel.
Baking the brownies
This recipe uses an 8x8 pan. I recommend using a light coloured metal baking pan for baking brownies. Dark metals will cause the brownies to cook too quickly and lead to harder edges. Grease the pan and line it with a parchment sling, this will make it easier to pull out of the pan.
Pour the brownie batter into the pan and sprinkle with the caramel shards.
Bake for 25 minutes, the center won't be completely baked but it'll continue baking out of the oven. As soon as it is out of the oven, sprinkle over chopped honeycomb candy and gently press in.
Let the brownies completely cool before cutting.
FAQs and Tips
Keep these brownies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I do not recommend keeping them in their pan, as the butter from greasing the pan will harden and the brownies will stick
You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13 pan
You could leave the caramel shards out of this brownie recipe if you want and instead dollop ready made caramel.
Other brownie recipes to try:
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @alpineella and leave a review below if you've made these brownies! If you want more baking ideas, you can follow me on Pinterest
Recipe
Honeycomb & Caramel Brownies
Equipment
- 8x8 tin
Ingredients
Caramel Shards
- ½ tablespoon water
- 38 grams granulated sugar
Brownies
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 160 grams unsalted butter
- 20 grams cocoa powder
- 72 grams flour
- 113 grams dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 100 grams light brown sugar
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 60 ml vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 crunchie bars, chopped
Instructions
Make Caramel Shards
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the water and granulated sugar to a small saucepan and dissolve the sugar on medium-low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high heat and let the mixture turn dark amber. Don't move the pan around!
- Once it has reached a dark amber colour, pour it on to the parchment paper and use an offset spatula to spread the caramel into a thin layer.
- Let the caramel cool completely, and then with a knife break it up.
Make Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease an 8x8 pan and line it with parchment paper
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- In a large jug, whisk eggs, egg yolk, sugars, oil, espresso powder and vanilla extract
- Put the butter and chopped chocolate in a small saucepan on low heat and melt together. Stir constantly so the chocolate doesn’t burn. Cook until completely smooth and remove from heat.
- Add the cocoa powder to the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the sugar mixture into the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture and fold, making sure there are no air pockets.
- Pour into the prepared tin and sprinkle your caramel shards on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The top should have crackled, and a toothpick inserted will have a few crumbs on it.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle the crunchie bar chunks on top, press lightly into the top of the brownies.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Maryann
10/10
Nate
They were so good, i had to wrap some up and hide them from my kids before they could eat them all so i could have some later that night once they went to bed!!! Highly recommended!!!
Nicola
Tried these, ate these. They are amazing.
Ella, these were so popular. Thank you for such a great recipe.