I was looking forward to spending my evening at the Château. Château D’Awesome as it is formally known, is a suburban mansion laced with fine musicians who enjoy Seinfeld. It is my haven. I was going to bake something to take. Bring Babka, or The Balck and White Cookie, but they didn’t seem too exciting (comic value aside). How about something with caramel? Yes. How about a slice? Yes.
I didn’t want one of those caramel slices where the base is laden with bitty coconut scraps and the caramel doesn’t taste like real caramel. I wanted something a little more sophisticated. The recipe I ended up using is more like a shortbread slice and is buttery and rich (my two favourite qualities in a man).
Ingredients
- 300g self raising flour
- 275g unsalted butter
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tin condensed milk
- 200g dark chocolate
Method
- Preheat oven to 170˚C.
- For the base: rub butter into flour and sugar. Tip into lined swiss roll tin, smooth down gently using your hands then the back of a wooden spoon. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool in tin.
- Place condensed milk, butter, golden syrup and brown sugar into a saucepan and melt over medium heat until it bubbles, stirring all the time. Simmer for around 8 minutes but don’t let it get too brown. Do not taste this mixture. It is wickedly hot. When it has thickened but it still of pouring consistency, pour onto the base and allow to cool.
- Melt the dark chocolate by resting it in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. When melted, pour on top of caramel. Allow two hours to set at room temperature.
You can cut the slice any way you like. It is rather rich so I opted for rough-cut chunky squares. It goes exceedingly well with coffee and was a hit at the Château.
