Salted caramel & cashew slice
This caramel slice is not for the faint-hearted – it’s for those of us who appreciate the sweet, luscious, hedonistic things in life! There’s a gorgeously thick layer of gooey caramel in the middle, to which the flakes of sea salt are the perfect foil.
Ingredients
Base
125g butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup flour (or gluten-free flour mix without raising agent)
1 cup desiccated coconut
Caramel
2 x 395g tins sweetened condensed milk
150g butter
1 tsp flaky sea salt
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
¾ cup cashew nuts, roughly chopped
Icing
200g dark chocolate (I used 60% cocoa solids), chopped
50g butter
1 tsp sea salt flakes, to garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c regular bake. Line a 20 x 20cm (or 20cm x 30cm) slice tin with baking paper so it goes up the sides – you may need 2 pieces.
Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Remove from the heat. Sift in the flour in and add the coconut. Stir to combine. Flatten into the base of the tin in an even layer with your fingers – having a layer of clingfilm on top will stop the mixture sticking to your hands and make it easier to press out.
Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 160c regular bake.
Add the condensed milk, butter, brown sugar and golden syrup to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until only just melted and combined, then remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.
Pour the caramel over the base and sprinkle with the cashew nuts. Return to the oven for 20-25 minutes – the edges of the caramel should start turning golden brown and the middle should still be a bit wobbly. Remove from the oven.
To make the icing, melt the chocolate and butter cream in a heatproof bowl sitting over a pot of simmering water (or microwave on high for 1 minute in a glass or ceramic bowl). Spread over the caramel. If you like, sprinkle with a little more flaky sea salt. Refrigerate to set, then slice and serve as you like.
Keeps for a week in the fridge (ha!).
