This salted caramel brownie sandwich from The Baker and Butcher in downtown Honolulu is far from a well-kept secret. In fact, in the first month that The Baker and Butcher was open, owner chef Roger Meier estimates they sold 2,000 brownies alone. To everyone who comes upon this sweet treat, it is a lunchtime epiphany.
“The recipe kind of evolved over the period of a decade,” Meier says. Today, the baker and butcher executes each batch himself, a sandwich of salted caramel between dense brownie spotted with macadamia nuts. Meier even served a version of the treat to His Holiness the Dalai Lama a couple years ago.
“There was a table of 30 VIP guests including His Holiness, and somebody had told me he really likes brownies,” the chef says. The Dalai Lama polished off the whole dessert.
I won’t share Meier’s brownie-making technique because it sounds surprisingly simple, but will amount in lots of frustration for those who can’t successfully flip over a very large tray of thin brownies—that should be hint enough. While the brownie is the most popular pastry at the downtown shop (which also features artisan sandwiches all under $8), Meier’s favorite is the raspberry tart, which he makes with an ingredient rare for Hawai‘i, adding the South American tonka bean to the ganache. Whatever you get, it’s a wholly sweet treat.
Salted Caramel Chocolate Brownie, $3. Visit The Baker and Butcher at 1111 Bishop St. #112 in Honolulu.