Brownies:

Preheat oven to 350° F / 175° C. Lightly butter an 8×8 inch / 20×20 centimeter square baking tin, line with parchment, and set aside.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When butter has melted, stir in sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about five minutes.

Transfer butter-sugar-cocoa mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Add egg and vanilla extract to butter-sugar-cocoa mixture, and stir to combine.

Stir in flour and baking powder, followed by canola oil.

Fold chocolate chips into the batter, stirring until just combined. Pour batter into prepared tin. (Mixture will be thick).

Using damp fingers or a spatula, press batter evenly into the tin.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Transfer brownies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely, at least one hour. While brownies are cooling, prepare the salted chocolate caramel.

Salted Chocolate Caramel:

In a small saucepan, warm cream, butter, and sea salt over low heat. (Do not boil.)

In a separate pan, combine sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, brushing down the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush as needed. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a medium caramel color (about 365° F / 185° C on a candy thermometer; your mixture should resemble honey.) This will take a few minutes, so be patient!

Remove pan from heat and pour warm cream mixture into the caramelized sugar mixture, then wait for a moment until the bubbles subside.

Return pan to medium heat and cook mixture to approximately 244-245° F / 118° C. (This will produce a caramel layer just firm enough to hold its shape on the top of the blondies, yet soft enough to chew easily!) Again, it will take a few minutes for the caramel to come up to the proper temperature, so be patient.

When correct temperature has been achieved, remove caramel from heat. Immediately add chopped dark chocolate to the hot caramel, and stir gently until just combined.

Pour chocolate caramel mixture over brownie slab, and use a spatula to spread evenly, making sure the caramel reaches all edges of the tin.

Sprinkle generously with sea salt.

Sit aside to cool, at least one hour or until caramel has set. Remove brownie slab from tin, slice into 16 squares, and enjoy!

Store salted caramel brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.**