Shortbread Salted Caramel Slice

Okay, I’m not going to lie, I’m not a fan of caramel. I always find it too sweet (yes, I know I say this about all deserts). BUT I did come across a caramel slice at a café chain here in Melbourne called Soul Origin and they serve a caramel slice that is actually really good. However, here is the problem: they sell the slice in tiny small slivers and it costs $2.50! That tiny slice never feels like it’s enough! I could buy another but paying $5.00 for caramel slice just doesn’t sit right, ya know?

So here I am, recreating the recipe purely based on taste and I have to say, this is a damn good caramel slice. You’re probably thinking, ok can we trust someone who doesn’t even like caramel? For what it’s worth, I’ve fed this slice to quite a few people who do love caramel and they think it’s pretty damn good too.

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Shortbread Salted Caramel Slice

Ingredients

Base & Crumble Topping

• 1 ½ cup (180g) icing sugar/powdered sugar
• ¾ cup (120g) cornflour/corn starch
• 2 ¼ cup (315g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 330g unsalted butter, cold and cut into small (1-2cm) cubes
• 2 tablespoons water
• 100g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Caramel Filling

• 250g unsalted butter, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 x 395g (300ml) can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Base

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced) and line a 30x26 cm baking tray* with overhang on two sides.
2. Put all-purpose flour, icing sugar, corn flour and salt into a food processor, pulse until well combined. Add in cubed butter and pulse more until crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor, place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and then use your hands to rub the butter into the flour until you get crumbs.
3. Place three-quarters of crumb mixture into the base and press down firmly using a flat spatula. Reserve the rest of the mixture for the crumble top.
4. Bake the base for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Caramel & Topping

1. Lower oven to oven to 160°C (fan 140°C).
2. Place sugar, butter, salt and vanilla in a saucepan over medium low heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk together to combine evenly and then leave until it comes to a simmer.
3. When bubbles begin to appear, pour in your condensed milk and whisk constantly until larger bubbles appear. This should take 6-7 minutes.
4. When the big bubbles appear, whisk constantly for 1 minute and then pour the caramel over the shortbread base.
5. To the remaining shortbread dough, add 1-2 tables spoons of water and mix with a fork until you get clumps of dough. Using hands, scatter the dough over the surface of the caramel, making sure there are some smaller pieces and some larger ones. Then scatter the chopped chocolate over the top.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on counter for 20 minutes, until the caramel is cool but not cold. Put the tray into the fridge to set for 1 hour.
7. To serve, remove from fridge and cut into pieces. Allow for the slice to come up to room temperature before serving.

Notes

*I use a baking tray that is 2cm in depth and when filled with the base, caramel & topping, it comes right to the rim. If you are using a baking tray smaller in dimensions than I’m using, just keep in mind that it will need to be higher/deeper to ensure it all fits. 

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