A word of warning, this is the second time I’ve tried to write this up. The first time I started, got very hungry, left for the kitchen and never came back. This time I’ve come armed with tea, cookies and jam on toast to help me through (for, surprise, surprise there is no chocolate caramel slice left in the house).
To get yours to look like the picture, double the amount of chocolate topping outlined below. It was an accident as I was originally halving the recipe, but it turned out to be a fabulous mistake. I also used leftover easter eggs chocolate, which worked really well.
Ingredients: Base
1 cup flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
115 grams butter, melted
Ingredients: Filling
1/3 cup golden syrup
115 grams butter, melted
2 x 400g cans sweetened condensed milk
Ingredients: Chocolate Topping (I doubled this)
170 grams dark chocolate
3 teaspoons olive oil
Method: Base
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (350F).
2. Place the flour, coconut, sugar, and butter in a bowl and mix. It should be crumbly, but sticking together.
3. Press the mixture into a rectangular 20x30cm (ish) baking tin that has been lined with baking paper. I also sprayed the baking paper with olive oil spray for good measure. Press the mixture in really well to give yourself a good base for cutting later.
4. Bake for around 15-18 minutes (until browned).
Method: Caramel Filling
1. Place the golden syrup, butter and condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat and stir for 7 minutes, or until it has thickened slightly.
2. Pour over the cooked base.
3. Bake for 20 minutes (check after 15), or until the caramel is golden. The caramel can bubble up a little with the cooking, but it will settle upon cooling and will be covered with chocolate.
4. Refrigerate until the slice is cold – about two to three hours.
Method: Topping
1. Place the chocolate and oil in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Spread over the slice.
4. Refrigerate until firm.
5. Cut with a heated knife.
Cut in to 2cm squares, this makes 36.
Don’t: Melt the butter in the microwave on a high heat. It exploded everywhere and then you have to put more in your jug to make up for the stuff all over the microwave. Not to mention clean the microwave.
And really don’t: stick your finger in the hot caramel. Not that I’d know….
Healthy? Really? Do you really have to ask if? I’ll tell you what, I will write it very small, and then you don’t have to read it unless you magnify the page, for ignorance is bliss. Like this slice. Calorie count: 150 a slice (which really isn’t that bad anyway).
Gluten free? The base is not. The GF recipes I have seen just substitute the flour with GF flour, but I haven’t tried it. With all the butter and sugar, I think it would be fine and bind well enough. Or, you could do something like:
GF alternate for base
Ingredients
170 grams digestive type GF biscuits from the supermarket, crushed
60 grams butter, melted
Method
Combine the digestive biscuits and butter together. Press firmly into the base of the tin. No need to cook it for this method. Then just add the caramel sauce on top and keep going as above.
Storage: In an airtight container.
Source: Modified from Donna Hay “Modern Classics book 2: Cookies, Biscuits + Slices, Small Cakes, Desserts, Hot Puddings, Pies + Tarts” pp. 16-17.
