wickedly good caramel slice

Testing. Testing. 1.2.3…

Crikey its been a while – and who knows maybe the next post will be another year away, but I bloody hope not. In the way life goes I am in the midst of déjà vu with Pog who has been living with me for the last four months, heading off to a new life in Melbourne in a week. Having secured a fab job with a very cool design agency and accompanied by the beautiful Billy (Staffy Bijon cross) he will be returning to his old stomping ground as a very accomplished and mature young man, slightly daunted, but never bowed, he will begin his new adventures with typical élan. Meanwhile Hoob will be moving in for six months at the end of February, so for a brief period I will be back to solo living punctuated by visits from PD (with many scrabble games and crosswords accompanied by a whisky or two) and my return to work and the start of a new year with Dish magazine.

Anyhoo, enough of all that for now. The reason for the post is that yesterday, Pog was out and I fancied doing a bit of baking. I intended to make the recipe I created for Cecilia Robinson but couldn’t find my dessicated coconut so made up a base that provides a crunchily pleasing support for the thick layer of caramel topped with salted dark chocolate. It worked a treat, so that when I found the coconut (weirdly, stored in the fridge), moments after putting the slice in the oven, I wasn’t at all bothered. So if you’re hankering for a piece of something wickedly good with a morning coffee or afternoon cup of tea, I reckon this’ll do the trick

Base:
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
½ cup caster sugar
130 grams butter, melted

Filling:
395-gram can sweetened condensed milk
395-gram can caramel condensed milk 50 grams butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon butter

Topping:
250 grams 70% dark chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon sea salt

21cm x 26 cm slice tin, lined with baking paper
Preheat the oven to 170°C fan bake.

Whiz the flour, oats, sugar and butter together in a food processor  then tip into the prepared tin and smooth until compact with the back of a spoon. Bake for 18 minutes.

Once the base has cooled for 15 minutes, put the sweetened condensed milk and caramel condensed milk in a microwave-proof bowl with the butter and golden syrup. Microwave on high, in 30-second bursts, until it can be whisked together until smooth. Pour over the base and bake a further 15-20 minutes until golden and set. Refrigerate until cold. Put the chocolate and vegetable oil in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and whisk until melted and smooth. Pour over the set caramel and quickly smooth with the back of a spoon. Wait 2 minutes then sprinkle over sea salt. Refrigerate until set then cut into pieces with a hot knife.

makes 24-32 pieces