Recipe #5 - Caramel Shortbread.

My Mum makes killer caramel shortbread.  When I went home for a few weeks last year, I was sure to nab the recipe she uses so I could have a bash at making it myself one day.  It's so crumbly and sweet and one piece is always just enough to sate any craving.  And it only uses six ingredients, bonus!

To make the shortbread base, you will need 150 grams of butter, 100 grams of sugar and 275 grams of all purpose flour.  For the caramel filling, you'll need 100 grams of butter, 100 grams of sugar, 2 tablespoons of golden syrup (or light corn syrup if you can't find it) and 1 large can of condensed milk.  For the chocolate topping, you'll need about 100 grams of milk chocolate, preferably the kind designed for cooking but chocolate drops will do in a pinch!

First, the shortbread.  I made sure to leave my butter out for a little while before starting, so that it was easy to work with, and I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F.  I creamed the butter and sugar together and gradually worked in the flour, until I had a nice crumbly mix.

I dumped the mix out onto my non-stick baking pan (yes, I finally got a flat one!) and pressed it out to create the base, making sure I got right into the corners.

I then popped it into the oven for about 20 minutes, checking it at 15.  You want to make sure that it's a little golden around the edges but still pretty pale and it'll have a bit of give when you press it lightly.  The base needs to be left to cool completely before topping it with caramel.

To make the caramel, I put the butter, sugar, golden syrup and condensed milk into a saucepan and heated it gently until all the sugar had dissolved.

Pre-melting!

Once all the sugar had dissolved and that grainy feel had vanished, I increased the heat until the mixture was boiling.  Once it had started a strong boil, I stirred it constantly for about 5 minutes before removing from the heat and allowing it to settle.

Action shot!

I tried to make caramel once before and it was an absolute disaster, so I crossed my fingers and this time it came out pretty well!  I did learn, however, that humidity is the enemy of caramel and other similar sweets and while it was resting, I did get a little bit of separation from the butter.  Not to fear, if this does happen I recommend giving it a good stir and another gentle heat to try and incorporate the oils back in.  That worked for me!

Once your caramel has rested for a little while and stopped bubbling, you can pour it right onto that lovely shortbread base.

I left this to cool on the counter and then popped it into the fridge to ensure it set properly.  Once it was cold, I got my chocolate topping ready!

Once all your chocolate is melted, just pour it on top of the caramel and leave to cool before putting it back in the fridge and letting it set until the chocolate is solid.

In order to get this tasty treat out of the tin, all I did was turn it over onto a chopping board and give it a few hard thumps on the bottom.  If you're not using a non-stick pan, do make sure it's well-greased and/or well-lined to avoid sticking!

Look at all those slices!  I learned from my Mum that it's better to cut on the shortbread side, you're less likely to get a ton of cracks in your chocolate topping and it can be tricky to flip it back over, too!

Ahh, the perfectly delicious combination of shortbread, caramel and chocolate!  All in the right proportions, too!  This really is a decadent little treat, it melts in your mouth and will forever remind me of being at home in England.  To store it, I popped my slices between layers of kitchen roll in an old biscuit tin from Christmas and I've got it in the fridge, since it's so hot and sticky here at the moment.

I'm so proud that it came out just right, especially since my last caramel attempt was so terribly unsuccessful!  It tastes just like my Mum's (well, it's almost as good - it's never quite as good as your Mum's, is it!) and I've got a feeling it'll be a firm favourite in our house from now on!

Have you baked or cooked a family favourite for the first time?  How did it go?  I hope you're having a grand week so far and that the weather is being kind to you!

Love, K.