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Cocoa + Salted Caramel Cake Bites

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 12 squares

Ingredients

For the caramel

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the cake

  • 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 8 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup flour

Instructions

Make the caramel

  1. Wrap a plate in buttered parchment paper.

  2. Melt the sugar in a heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly until sugar becomes thin and no longer clumpy. 

  3. When the sugar is completely liquified, add in the butter and watch for the color to change from golden to light brown. Roughly five minutes. If you begin to smell a nutty flavor, remove it from heat.

  4. Add in salt and milk, stirring well.

  5. Reduce heat and simmer for several more minutes until smooth. 

  6. Pour caramel onto parchment paper and freeze.

Make cake batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover an 8x8 cake pan in parchment paper and butter it.

  2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a saucepan until smooth. [You can reuse the caramel pot.]

  3. Remove from heat and add in sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.

  4. Let cool before whisking in eggs, one at a time.

  5. Fold in flour, and pour batter into the prepared pan.

Assemble and bake

  1. Remove the caramel from the freezer and chop it into squares.

  2. Arrange caramel on top of cake batter, pressing down lightly. 

  3. Bake in 350°F oven for 30 minutes.