‘Ello dear listeners,
Can you believe it? February is gone! It seems like just yesterday I was posting the very first ROTW, sniffle sniffle, how time flies when you’re having fun! I mean really? When you’re juggling three classes and a busy baking schedule you can hardly figure out if it’s tomorrow or two days ago! But I digress…
How about those Red Velvet cupcakes? Pretty darn good, eh? We thought so too! We’re going to have a hard time getting Mike to find something better than that!
This week we truly tested our skills at the Baker’s Block, and I’ll tell you how…
Caramel Chocolate Shortbread
Be warned, this recipe is not for beginner cooks! I actually had to make the caramel twice. That’s right, you have to make your own caramel. Which incidentally is not as easy as the recipe makes it out to be! I added points and tips where I felt they were needed, they are indicated by the * symbol. On top of having to make your own caramel, the recipe requires you to temper chocolate, which is difficult as well! Although next to make the caramel it was a breeze! The trick to tempering chocolate is to remove the chocolate from the heat just before it is fully melted, this keep the chocolate that has already melted from burning!
Shortbread:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing *cold butter for this part
Scant 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup superfine sugar
Filling:
Scant 1 cup softened butter *make sure this is very soft when you start the caramel, you might even want to melt it a little a head of time.
Generous 1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 tbsp dark (or light) corn syrup
14oz canned sweetened condensed milk
Topping:
8 oz semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square shallow cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Place the butter, flour and sugar in a food processor and process until they begin to bind together. Press the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bae in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved *it is important that the butter is soft otherwise the sugar burns. I made that mistake with my first batch! I also would like to stress the word SCANT in the recipe, I’m not entirely sure that that means, but it is important, too much butter and it begins to separate from the rest of the mixture!* Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very thick. Remove the shortbread from the oven, then pour over the filling and chill in the refrigerator until firm.
To make the topping, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then spread over the filling. Chill in the refrigerator until set. Cut into 12 pieces with a sharp knife and serve
Other than the caramel being a total pain in the butt, this was a very satisfying accomplishment! And they turned out pretty! But what did Mike give this chocolate caramel confection?
4 Mikes!
His thoughts? “It could use a little more chocolate and a little less caramel; the caramel is a little overwhelming. The cookie part is good though.” People who tried it said it was like a Twix bar, but better. Is that even possible? But this one could never be possible without my new cookbook from my friend Julie! It’s called Easy Chocolate. I think it goes without saying that there will be a lot more where that came from!
Break an egg,
Colleen