These espresso salted tahini caramel cornflake brownies are a mouthful to say, but the MOST satisfying to eat. They’re super fudgy dark chocolate espresso brownies topped with a sweet and crunchy salted tahini cornflake caramel.
I’ve gotta be honest, I’m a brownie purist. I love a perfect fudgy brownie, or one with something swirled inside. But I’ve never made – let alone developed a recipe for – a brownie that has anything layered on top.
But when I heard of cornflake brownies – brownies with caramel cornflakes on top – I thought they sounded truly delicious. The version I developed is actually incredible. These cornflake brownies have a more nuanced flavor by using tahini instead of traditional caramel and espresso inside the batter.
These espresso tahini cornflake brownies are seriously ADDICTING. We just ran out of them in the freezer and I’m frankly distressed. So get ready for what I think will be your new favorite brownie recipe. AND you can make them from scratch, or level-up box mix.
This post is all about espresso salted tahini caramel cornflake brownies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- FLAVOR. The tahini caramel adds a nutty, caramel flavor that is out of this world. The espresso complements the tahini caramel and the dark chocolate of the brownies, but it’s subtle. It’s enough to make people think “oh, is that espresso?” without feeling overpowered by a coffee flavor.
- TEXTURES. Christina Tosi of Milk Bar fame talks about how she’s often looking to experience different textures within one baked good. I love this ethos. And these espresso tahini cornflake brownies hit it home. CRISPY AND FUDGY all in one.
- You can eat these brownies cold, which is perfect in summer months. Usually I’m a warm brownie gal, but I love these cornflake brownies straight out of the freezer. It keeps the cornflakes perfectly crispy. If you’ve never tried a cold brownie before, ya gotta give it a go!
- These cornflake brownies are secretly easy to make. Tahini caramel is a lot easier to make than regular caramel, so it’s a really easy way to plus-up brownies. You can also use box mix brownies!
- These are gorgeous, impressive brownies. Whether you’re leveling up a box mix or making these fully from scratch, these brownies make it seem like you KNOW stuff in the kitchen. And they’re fancy enough to bring to a dinner party.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Quality chocolate bar or chips (I prefer bar because it melts better). I like 60% cacao since we use a very dark chocolate cocoa powder.
- Dutch process cocoa powder.
- If you’ve never used Dutch process cocoa powder, I promise you’ll try it once and never look back (though you should make sure you can sub it for whatever recipe you’re using).
- Dutch process has a stronger chocolate flavor and higher fat content than natural cocoa powder, which helps make these brownies rich and tender. You can buy it in most grocery stores or on Amazon.
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Almond flour. You can sub in any kind of flour, but almond flour makes these super tender.
- Kosher salt
- Flaky sea salt (to top the brownies)
- Chocolate chips (optional)
- Tahini
- Maple syrup
- Cornflakes!!!
How to make espresso tahini cornflake brownies
- Make the brownies. The full recipe is below! But if you want to use box mix, just add 1 TBS espresso in the brownie batter along with the dry ingredients.
- While the brownies cool, make the tahini cornflake topping. The tahini cornflake topping takes 10 minutes to make and is really easy.
- Press the tahini caramel cornflake topping on top of the brownies and chill it in the fridge. Place the entire pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours to set. Then you can slice them up and enjoy!
FAQs
The brownie base here is adapted from my salty fudgy brownies recipe and is naturally gluten free. You can make the caramel cornflake topping gluten free by looking for certified gluten free cornflakes or rice krispies (Kellogg’s version of both are not gluten free).
If you don’t finish all the brownies, you can slice them and put them in an airtight container in the freezer. You can either eat them cold straight out of the freezer or let them warm up a bit at room temperature. Don’t reheat them in the oven – the cornflakes will get chewy.
More recipes you’ll love
- If you’re looking for more brownie recipes, try salty fudgy brownies or mint Oreo brownies.
- If you love brownies but have never tried blondies, ya gotta give them a go. Blondies are some of my most-viewed recipes on the site. Check out birthday cake blondies, almond frangipane blondies, or super brown butter blondies.
- Feeling breakfast next? Try the best banana bread, sweet potato superhero muffins, or dirty chai cinnamon rolls.
If you make these espresso tahini cornflake brownies, please leave a rating and review below and tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @loaves.and.such!
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