One of my favourite things to have with a cup of coffee is a humble caramel slice. They also make excellent treats to bring in to work (if you try to eat the whole tray at home on your own, I am not responsible for hospital bills). So, when I finished my second PhD rotation, I brought in caramel slices, to make doubly certain everyone would miss me....
Beware that the caramel is a) pretty intimidating to calorie counters, and b) somewhat tedious to make, but it totally pays off.
First you make the base. This base is nice and crumbly, but you can do a different type of biscuit if you prefer. I've been using this base since I first got the recipe for the slices more than fifteen years ago from my neighbour (hi stella! thanks!).
Biscuity base
- 8oz plain flour
- 4oz butter
- 2oz caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Prepare a baking sheet by putting some greaseproof paper on top. Rub the flour and butter together until it has the appearance of breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar. Tip the crumbs onto the papered tray, and push around a bit until it's level, but dont press it hard. Bake until golden around the edges (takes about 20 minutes). Leave aside to await its caramelly topping.
The good stuff (caramel)
- Can of Evaporated milk (400g I think, also note EVAPORATED, not the other sort)
- 8oz of butter
- 4 tablespoons golden syrup
- Vanilla essence
For the caramel, combine all ingredients apart from the vanilla in a pot. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. When everything has melted together, bring the caramel to a simmer, and stir constantly, for about forty to fifty minutes, until the caramel coats the back of a spoon. You'll see it start to thicken and look more like caramel. Also, I'm serious about the stirring, CONSTANT STIRRING. Either farm off some of the stirring time to a younger sibling, or bring a book to hold in your other hand...
Pour the thick caramel on to the base and let to cool. Get a big glass of milk to drink while you scrape out whatever is left stuck to the pot (sometimes I leave a bit in the pot instead of pouring it all out, and make myself sick trying to eat ALL THE CARAMELS). When the caramel is cool, you can pour melted chocolate on top. I'm going to assume (never assume etc...) that you can melt chocolate, if not ask someone (me or another adult).
Once the chocolate is set, you can cut it into slices, pop it in a lunchbox, and make yourself a workplace hero!