Salted Caramel-Filled Brownies

I never would have thought to bake brownies in the form of a cupcake but I was easily convinced to give it a try when I saw these Salted Caramel-Filled Brownies featured on the cover of Cook's Country's Feb/Mar 2021 issue.  The combination of sweet caramel and sea salt is always a winner in my book.  The recipe features variations of the filling, like chocolate ganache and peanut butter ganache, which sounded delicious too. 

The trick with this recipe is to make sure you use parchment paper cupcake liners which are different from the paper liners you'd find at the supermarket.  I bought these ones from Amazon and I heard some Target stores also carry it.  If you don't use the parchment liners you run the risk of the brownies sticking to the liner.  Not pretty!

Chocolate-Caramel Layer Cake

Pardon my absence from the blog but I was away in Europe for the last two months, working and spending time with my friends.  To say that my time there was great would be an injustice - it was f'ing amazing!  But if I missed anything about home, other than proper Asian and Mexican food, it was my kitchen.  Baking, as many of you know, is my jam and as soon I landed in SF I was anxious to get back to my happy place.

I was absolutely delighted to see this recipe for Chocolate-Caramel Layer Cake in the Sep/Oct 2015 issue of my favorite cooking magazine, Cook's Illustrated.   There are a few steps but they couldn't be more straightforward and this is a recipe that doesn't require a stand mixer.  

The chocolate cake and frosting couldn't be simpler to make but I'm always a bit apprehensive when it comes to homemade caramel.  The key to success is using a really good instant read thermometer.   [I have  this one from Thermapen and it's also recommended by the Test Kitchen.]  After frosting the cake, all that was left was a nice sprinkling of Maldon sea salt that I brought back from London.  

It's great to be home!