American Caramel Slice

Active time: 35 minutes | Bake time: 27

I had heard of Caramel Slice several years ago and for some reason, I pictured it like a caramel pie which sounded pretty overpowering and unappealing to me. Fast forward to my trip to New Zealand in the beginning of 2020 (yes, literally right before COVID). As a self proclaimed foodie, I love tasting local treats as I travel, so I was very excited to see a caramel slice in a bakery on one of my first days of the trip. I was even more excited when I tasted it and it was not like I had expected. Traditional caramel slice has a sort of coconut shortbread crust, a caramel layer, though it's typically made with sweetened condensed milk, so not as punchy as typical caramel, and finally a layer of chocolate on top.

Of course, I then had to try like every caramel slice in every bakery I stopped at for the rest of my 3 week trip. Listen, I was very excited by this new discovery.

Being the baker that I am, when I came home, I began a search for a good Caramel Slice recipe. This was before I did any recipe development, so I found a recipe which I was mostly happy with and stuck with it. Now fast forward to 2021 when I was starting to experiment and create my own recipes. I wanted to put my own spin on this delicious treat from "down undah", so here is my recipe!

For the Shortbread:

• 1 stick (113g / ½ cup) butter, softened

• 90g (½ cup, loosely packed) brown sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¾ tsp salt

• 16g (2 tbsp) powdered sugar

• 150g (1 ¼ cup) all purpose flour

For the Caramel:

• 9 tbsp (125g) unsalted butter

• 90g (½ cup loosely packed) brown sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract

• ½ tsp salt

• 14 ounces (395g/1 can) sweetened condensed milk

For the Chocolate:

• 180g (6 ounces/1 cup) dark chocolate

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• 28g (1 ounce / ¼ cup) white chocolate

• 28g (1 ounce / ¼ cup) milk chocolate OR butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 or 7x11 pan with parchment paper.

2. For the Shortbread: In a large bowl, cream the butter with a spatula (or electric mixer with paddle attachment) until it is light and smooth. Add brown sugar, vanilla, and salt and cream them with the butter.

3. Add the powdered sugar and flour and mix until just combined.

4. Spread your dough out in your prepared pan in an even layer. Pierce holes in the dough with a fork.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and refrigerate while you make the caramel.

6. For the Caramel: Lower the oven to 320°F.

7. Place the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk the ingredients together to combine, then just leave it until it reaches a simmer.

8. When bubbles appear, add the sweetened condensed milk and whisk constantly for 5-7 minutes until it boils (you’ll start to see bigger bubbles from the bottom of the pan). Continue to whisk for one minute, then pour the caramel onto your shortbread and carefully tilt the pan to spread it out evenly.

9. Return to the oven for 12 minutes. Cool on the counter for 20 minutes, then place in the refrigerator until completely cooled.

10. For the Chocolate: Divide each type of chocolate into different microwave-safe bowls. Add coconut oil to the dark chocolate. Microwave each chocolate bowl in 30 second intervals, mixing in between each interval, until completely melted.

11. Pour the dark chocolate on top of the caramel layer, spread it out with a spatula. Add spoonfuls of the milk and white chocolate in different areas around the top of the dark chocolate and swirl through just the chocolate layer with a butter knife to create a swirl design.

12. Return to the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to cool.

13. To cut, use a heated knife (you can run it under hot water, then dry it, or carefully use a blow torch to warm the blade).