Total time: 50 minutes (Preparation: 15 minutes, Cooking: 35 minutes)
Serves: 16
A crowd pleaser - in our household we affectionally refer to this as 'caramel crack'. This was one of the dishes that my mother-in-law, Alana welcomed us home with when we brought our baby home from hospital.
Shortcrust base:
Plain flour: 1 cup
Sugar, caster: 1/4 cup
Unsalted butter: 125g
Salt: Pinch
Caramel filling:
Unsalted butter: 125g
Brown sugar: 1 cup
Golden syrup: 2 tablespoons
Condensed milk: 200g (1/2 can)
Vanilla essence: A few drops
Chocolate topping:
Milk chocolate: 220g
Sea salt (optional): Good sea salt flakes like a Maldon can help the chocolate pop
Shortcrust base:
Preheat oven to 180C fan forced.
Combine the ingredients for the shortcrust base together with your fingertips until they resemble breadcrumbs. Then gently knead to form the pastry.
Press the pastry into an oiled or lined tray. The tray should be ~500 cm2 (e.g., 23cm x 23 cm or 18cm x 300 cm)Â
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Leave aside to cool. You can use this time to make the caramel filling.
Caramel filling:
Add all of the caramel ingredients, except for the vanilla essence into a saucepan. Gently heat until boiling, and continue to cook on low for ~10 minutes stirring constantly.
Pour over the cooled shortcrust base.
Chocolate topping:
Melt chocolate in a bowl over boiling water or microwave (easier).
Spread over caramel layer. If desired, sprinkle lightly with sea salt flakes. Allow to cool before cutting and serving. This is quite rich, so small slices will suffice. When we make this at home, we get 32 slices from it.
Storing: This can be stored for a few days in the fridge (if it lasts that long) or can be frozen for several months.