These are THE BEST Miso Caramel Brownies. Fudgy and rich dark chocolate brownies with miso caramel baked into the brownie batter AND drizzled on top because there’s no such thing as too much caramel.
What is Miso Caramel?
Miso paste is made from fermented soybeans and it has a salty umami flavor. It’s often used to flavor soups, noodle bowls, and salad dressings. Stirring miso paste into caramel sauce has the same vibe as salted caramel, but with a little extra umami punch of flavor. If miso isn’t your thing, you can sub the miso caramel in this recipe with my homemade salted caramel sauce instead.
Ingredients
- Miso Paste. I used white miso paste in this recipe. White miso paste is fermented for a shorter time than red miso paste, giving it a sweeter, less intense flavor in comparison which is perfect for using in sweet recipes.
- Butter. Brownies don’t require a lot of ingredients, so the quality of ingredients can make a huge difference in the final product. I always highly recommend using a high quality butter like Kerrygold.
- Cocoa Powder. For deep, rich chocolate brownies, use Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. My go to is Guittard. It’s pricey, but SO dang good.
- Sesame Seeds. I added these on top for a little crunch and visual intrigue. Totally optional.
- White & Brown Sugar. White sugar for the classic brownie flavor. Brown sugar for the fudgy chew.
How to Make Miso Caramel Brownies
Make the Miso Caramel Sauce
Add the sugar, corn syrup, and water to a medium sized saucepan. Stir it together so that all of the sugar gets moistened by the water, then bring to a simmer. Once simmering, cover for 3 minutes. This will create steam and force any sugar that has gotten stuck to the sides of the pan to fall back into the caramel and prevent it from crystallizing. After 3 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook until it reaches a dark amber color, or between 360-365 degrees F.
Remove the caramel from the heat and let it sit for 30 seconds. Then, use a long handled wooden spoon or rubber spatula to begin stirring the caramel as you slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. It will bubble up and steam quite a bit so be careful. If it starts to clump up, don’t panic just continue to stir until it comes together and is nice and smooth. Then, stir in the butter and miso paste. Let cool while you prepare the brownie batter.
Make the Brownie Batter.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until light in color and silky, about 3 minutes. Then, whisk in the vanilla and melted butter. Add the dry ingredients and gently fold in with a rubber spatula until combined.
Pour 1/2 of the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula. Pour in 1/2 of the miso caramel and spread into an even layer almost all the way to the edges, but not quite. Then, top with the remaining brownie batter. I find it easiest to use a cookie scoop and dollop the batter all over the top, then spread it out rather than pour it all in the middle then try to spread it. Once you have it spread into an even layer, bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and drizzle with remaining miso caramel. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Chilling the brownies will set the caramel and make them easier to slice, but you can serve them chilled, room temp, or warmed up!
Tools
- Medium Saucepan. I like to make caramel sauce in a stainless steel saucepan or enamel cast iron sauce pan. I find that a nonstick pan fluctuates in temperature too much and often leads to the sugar crystallizing and then the caramel sauce isn’t silky smooth.
- Candy Thermometer. You can absolutely make this miso caramel sauce without a candy thermometer and just judge it by eye. But if that makes you nervous, grab your candy thermometer to make sure you nail it.
- Long Handled Spoon or Spatula. When stirring the cream into the miso caramel, you’ll want to use a long handled wooden spoon or rubber spatula to keep your hands as far away as possible from the hot steam.
- 8″ Square Baking Pan. I love my USA Pans and use the 8″ square for lots of brownie and cookie bar recipes. If all you have is a 9″ square, that’ll work but take about 5 minutes off of the baking time as the brownies will be slightly thinner and bake quicker.
Miso Caramel Brownies
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 Brownies 1x
Description
Thick, rich and fudgy chocolate brownies with salty miso caramel sauce baked into the batter AND drizzled on top because there’s no such thing as too much caramel.
Ingredients
Miso Caramel
- 1 C (200 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 C (60 g) Water
- 2 TBSP (45 g) Light Corn Syrup
- 2 TBSP (28 g) Salted Butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 C (120 g) Heavy Cream, at room temperature
- 1 TBSP White Miso Paste
Dark Chocolate Brownies
- 2/3 C (95 g) All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 C (60 g) Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
- 2 Lg Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature
- 1/2 C (115 g) Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/2 C (110 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 C (113 g) Salted Butter, melted
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Sesame Seeds for topping, optional
Instructions
For Miso Caramel
-
Add the sugar, corn syrup, and water to a medium sized saucepan. Stir it together so that all of the sugar gets moistened by the water, then bring to a simmer.
-
Once simmering, cover for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook until it reaches a dark amber color, or between 360-365 degrees F.
-
Remove the caramel from the heat and let it sit for 30 seconds. Then, use a long handled wooden spoon or rubber spatula to begin stirring the caramel as you slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. Continue to stir until it comes together and is nice and smooth.
-
Then, stir in the butter and miso paste. Let cool while you prepare the brownie batter.
For Dark Chocolate Brownies
-
Preheat the oven to 350 and line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until light in color and silky, about 3 minutes.
-
Then, whisk in the vanilla and melted butter. Add the dry ingredients and gently fold in with a rubber spatula until combined.
-
Pour 1/2 of the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula. Pour in 1/2 of the miso caramel and spread into an even layer almost all the way to the edges, but not quite.
-
Then, top with the remaining brownie batter. I find it easiest to use a cookie scoop and dollop the batter all over the top, then spread it out rather than pour it all in the middle then try to spread it.
-
Once you have it spread into an even layer, bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes.
-
Remove from the oven and drizzle with remaining miso caramel. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Notes
Chilling the brownies will set the caramel and make them easier to slice, but you can serve them chilled, room temp, or warmed up!
Keywords: miso caramel brownies, miso caramel sauce, dark chocolate brownies
If you loved this recipe for my miso caramel brownies, be sure to leave a star rating and review below and tag @buuckfarmsbakery on TikTok and Instagram. To save this recipe for later, click on the Pinterest icon on the recipe card above or on any of the images throughout this post.
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