OMG. OMG. OMG. Why haven’t I tried this recipe sooner? I was sifting through a stack of recipes sent to me by my grandma when I came across this beauty. Let’s face it, salted caramel anything sounds amazing but how about caramel made with golden syrup? I don’t think I’ve seen a recipe outside of flapjacks, fruitcake or chicken legs that uses golden syrup so needless to say I was excited to see it called out in this recipe from Penzey’s.
This recipe was simple, simple, simple. I mean it’s harder than making toast or boiling water but comparatively it’s rather simple. You mix together the crust ingredients and bake it, make the caramel and bake again and throw together the chocolate ganache. It couldn’t have taken me more than 30 to 45 minutes total (not including melting time for the chocolate, maybe).
I ate three (er-maybe four-if you consider the fact that I saved some poor soul from having to eat the rounded corner pieces while I was cutting these bars into squares) of these squares straight away and I had to stop myself from eating more despite the fact that I was super full. They are THAT good.
Run, run, run to your kitchen and make these squares. I swear you won’t be disappointed. well, first you’ll probably need to run, run, run to a specialty grocery store that sells golden syrup. If you’re lucky enough to live in Portland, Oregon, I will let you know you can find golden syrup at QFC. Well. You could in 2014 anyway!
base ingredients.
- 1 c. self-rising flour
- ½ c. brown sugar
- 1 c. shredded coconut
- ½ c. (1 stick) butter, melted
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon (optional-I used a pinch)
- pinch salt
caramel ingredients.
- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 T. Lyle’s golden syrup
- 1 T. butter
- ½2 tsp. vanilla extract
chocolate ganache ingredients.
- 16 oz dark chocolate (I used a mixture of dark and semi-sweet)
- 1 T. butter
- 1 to 2 tsp. sea salt (I used Maldon’s flaky sea salt)
directions.
- Preheat oven to 360°. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, coconut, butter, cinnamon (if using) and salt. Mix well on low. Press onto an ungreased rectangular baking sheet (about 10×14; a 9×13 pan would also work), about 1/4-inch thick. Bake at 360° for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit.
- For the caramel, combine the milk, golden syrup and butter in a small heavy saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until big bubbles form and the mix is thickened and a light caramel color, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla—adding it at the beginning will make it much harder to tell when the milk turns a caramel color. Pour and gently spread over the base. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Let cool.
- For the chocolate, melt the chocolate and butter using a double boiler or in a glass bowl placed over a pot of boiling water. Stir until melted. Pour and spread the chocolate over the cooled caramel. Sprinkle with the sea salt. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set, about 2 hours. Cut and serve or refrigerate the cut pieces in a cookie tin.
Food Snob 