As a little reward for starting this blog I treated myself to a tea set that I did not need. Technically I bought it before I even started posting words on this blog, but I had resolved to finally start it, and I figured that was good enough to deserve a reward. In my defence, I have never owned a full tea set!
And this was a thing of such beauty that after knowing of its existence, I don’t think I could have survived a single day longer without it.
Aren’t humans funny creatures? I got to wondering whether other species reward themselves like we do. Does a dog ever give itself five more minutes in front of the heater after it feels it has barked sufficiently at a potentially threatening bird? Do birds commend themselves on especially sing-song chirps by finding a new leaf to furnish the nest with?
I don’t think they do. We are unique. And my tea set is a masterpiece.
How many people can say they drink tea with Monet ladies?
I have no desire to promote the make of the set (because I’m not being paid to do this!), but I will show it off in all of its fabulousness by including it in photos to accompany this week’s recipe.
This is a food blog, so I should talk about the caramel slice now! I find few things more rewarding than sweetened condensed milk, which is why I consider this recipe a little treat. The Boy’s family call caramel slice Millionaire’s Short Bread, which I just love – it makes it sound like even more of an indulgence!
I like the proportions of this recipe, it’s got similar amounts of base and caramel and just a thin covering of chocolate– this doesn’t mean that yours has to be as well. The Boy likes his caramel slice big on base, some people like lots of chocolate on top. Bake it once and play around with the proportions the next time!
Twice-baked caramel slice
Base:
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 125g butter, melted
- ½ cup sugar
Caramel filling
- 70g butter
- 400g can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
Topping
- 200g dark cooking chocolate
- 1 teaspoons vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 20cm x 20cm tin with baking paper.
Place the flour and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Melt your butter in the microwave and mix it into your dry ingredients.
Press the mixture into your lined tin with your fingers, then roll it out flat with a floured glass.
Pop it in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. It’s a pale biscuit, so it won’t brown overly – don’t worry, after 20 minutes it is definitely ready. Remove base from the oven and take it out so that it cools.
As it’s cooling, make a start on the caramel filling.
Put your butter and sweetened condensed milk in a small pan over a medium flame and allow the butter to melt, stirring regularly. Add in the golden syrup and brown sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved turn up the heat so that the caramel comes to a slow boil. Stir consistently for 6-8 minutes as it bubbles away – mind it doesn’t burn. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool before pouring it over the cooled base.
Ensure that your base has cooled sufficiently before pouring the caramel over, otherwise it will seep into the base and ruin the layered effect that you want!
Spread the caramel evenly over the base and return it the oven for 15 minutes so that the caramel will set properly. When you remove it from the oven the caramel should have formed a skin – it’s ready to go into the fridge now.
Pop it in the fridge while you melt the chocolate in the microwave. Put it in for 20-30 second intervals and give it a stir after each time so that it doesn’t burn. Once its completely cooled add the oil and give it a good stir. The oil gives it an extra glossy finish and also makes it a little easier to cut.
Spread the chocolate over the caramel and return it to the fridge for about an hour.
This rich little slice should give you about 16 serves, depending on how generous your slices are! Beware, it’s sickeningly good!
This slice is not for the faint of heart. It’s not hard to make, despite being split into three parts – the making it is the easy part… the problem is that this slice is decadent and delicious and pretty addictive too. So when you find yourself slicing of a little slither before breakfast, don’t act like I didn’t warn you!
slice yesterday. It was super windy here and he was scared. He moped around the house for so long that I had to force him to go outside and be adventurous for ten minutes. He mostly just hid behind shrubs, trees, flowers – whatever he thought might shield him from the wind. He was not a happy pup! Continue reading “Chocolate coconut slice and decadence”
