Chewy Chocolate Caramel Slice

This slice is seriously naughty. And yummy. Imagine a crunchy biscuit base, followed by a chewy caramel and sweet chocolate...mmmm just delicious. I actually couldn't believe myself that I have never made or even TRIED a chocolate caramel slice before. That's until I finally did when I had some guests coming over and as usual, I searched taste.com.au for sweet recipes that I could try making. Then I found this chocolate caramel slice and realised that from the rave reviews, I literally had to make it right away without delay. So for the taste test, I let my mother have some but surprisingly she didn't really like it though because it was too sweet and too "fattening". But I loved it and even the friends I shared them with devoured over it.

For this recipe, I decided to leave out the desiccated coconut in the biscuit base and put milk chocolate for the topping instead of dark because I though that it would overpower the rest of the slice. As long as you follow the instructions to a tee, you're likely not to have any problems, such as the caramel not setting. It's not that hard to make, but it does require some time and some patience to make each of the layers separately. I admit that the caramel filling was probably the most hardest out of all of the layers since I don't make them regularly. It was quite a boring process for me because I had to stand there and keep stirring the caramel for about 10 mins until it finally thickened up. And you can't boil it to make it cook faster either. But it doesn't give you burns like the traditional caramels though because its made out of condensed milk.

You could use any square or rectangular tin you like, but if you want thicker layers like mine, use a small rectangular tin. The bigger the tin, the thinner the layers. It's up to you to choose but personally, I kinda liked the proportions of the layers as it is like a bar instead of a slice. Maybe I should try a bigger tin next time...

Its okay if you're eating small pieces at time (it reminds me of chocolate bars) but eating huge pieces can make you feel...too...sugary. So, for all the sweet tooths out there, this slice is a great treat for a quick sugar fix but not so great for health fanatics!


Chewy Chocolate Caramel Slice adapted from the taste website

Ingredients

Biscuit base
190g (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour
70g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
120g butter, melted

Caramel filling
1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk
70g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
60g butter

Chocolate topping
200 g milk chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces
Half of 1/3 cup or 1/6 cup thickened cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush a 13 x 30cm loaf pan or any square or rectangular tin with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base with baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.

2. To make the biscuit base, combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the melted butter and stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly over the base. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven.

3. *Meanwhile, make the caramel filling by combining the condensed milk, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or more until caramel thickens but try not to boil the mixture.

4. Pour the hot caramel over the biscuit base. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until caramel begins to bubble and has formed a skin on the surface. Remove from oven and set aside for about 1 hour to cool down slightly.

5. To make the chocolate topping, place the chocolate and cream in a double boiler (put a heatproof bowl on top of a fitting saucepan with water) over low heat and stir with a metal spoon for 3 to 4 minutes until the chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture evenly over the caramel and use a spatula or knife to smooth the surface. Place in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours until  it is set and cut into pieces to serve.

*Notes: It's very important that you keep stirring the caramel over a low heat with patience until it slowly oozes of the spoon and has a thick consistensy with a caramel colour. This may take more than 8 minutes. Otherwise it will not set and ruin the whole slice which will become just like a caramel sauce.