Gloverly Cupcakes

 

Most people know this as milllionaires shortbread. However, I’ve always called it caramel slice. It reminds me of when we were younger – when we went shopping with mum in Cambridge, sometimes she would treat us to a slice of cake at a cafe called Carringtons. I would always go for their caramel slice – for me it was the perfect combination of crunchy biscuit, smooth caramel and rich chocolate. When I found out that Sunday Baking Club were having a caramel theme last weekend this is the first thing that came to mind. Having made it, I decided to have a look on Cafe Carrington’s website to see if they still do caramel slice but discovered that it went into liquidation just over a week ago. So this caramel slice is in memory of Cafe Carrington’s and all the yummy caramel slices I had over the years.

This is slightly different to the caramel slice from Carringtons – the caramel is softer and lighter, I used a mix of chocolate on the top, and I cut it into much smaller slices. However, it still brings back memories. The recipe is from the Cookie and Biscuit Bible. I’ve made quite a few thing from it over the years and it’s never disappointed – it has definitely lived up to its name. All the recipes are easy to follow and fairly simple. Although this is time consuming to make, it’s actually not that tricky. The hardest part is making the caramel. The key is to be patient – if you stir it constantly (for 10 minutes – just think of the reward of a caramel slice at the end!) and use a low heat, you can’t really go wrong. I didn’t really change anything in the recipe, apart from the size/shape of the tin (because I didn’t have the size required). The shortbread will look like it won’t cover the whole of the base, but trust me it will. You’ll find that as you try to press it into the tin it will warm up a bit making it easier to spread out.

Chocolate Covered Caramel Slice

From the Cookie and Biscuit Bible – cuts into 55 bite-sized slices (each one 1”x2”)

175g unsalted butter

75g caster sugar

250g plain flour

2 x 397g tins of condensed milk

90g butter

90g light muscavado sugar

90g dark chocolate

90g milk chocolate

50g white chocolate

Pre heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and line the base of an 11”x10” tin (or 13”x9” as the original recipe stated). To make the shortbread base place the 175g butter, caster sugar and plain flour into a bowl and rub together with your fingers until it forms breadcrumbs. Keep mixing until it all comes together and then push it out to cover the whole of the base of the tin. Prick all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden in colour.

Meanwhile, make the caramel by putting the condensed milk, remaining butter and light muscavado sugar into a saucepan. Heat gently until everything has melted, stirring occasionally. Once it has all combined, keep stirring as you bring it to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, while stirring constantly, until it has darkened slightly and has thickened. Leave to cool slightly before pouring over the base to cool completely.

Once the caramel has cooled down, melt all three chocolates and pour over the top. Pour the milk and dark chocolate in strips across the top to start with and spread it out so that the whole of the top is covered. Then drizzle the white chocolate across the top and use a cocktail stick to swirl it in.

Leave to set before cutting into slices. I find it easier to start cutting it/mark where the slices were going to be before the chocolate has completely set – if you wait until the chocolate it completely solid there’s a risk it will just crack (and not where you want it to!) when you try to cut it.