DAY 39, CHOCOLATE 'CLARABEL' SHORTBREAD

...and no, that's not a typo, just what one of my children called it when they couldn't pronounce caramel!
This recipe is not difficult, but takes a while to construct the layers and is FULL of calories as you'll see from the ingredients list...

for the shortbread

50g sugar

125g butter (room temperature)

175g plain flour (I used 50g cornflour, 125g plain flour)

pinch salt

for the 'clarabel'

200g sweetened condensed milk

125g butter

50g sugar

for the chocolate top

150g dark chocolate

2 tbsp cream or milk (optional, but makes the chocolate slightly easier to cut through)

top row - room temperature butter, sugar, flour/cornflour, salt - for the shortbread
bottom row - butter, sugar, sweetened condensed milk - for the caramel & choc for the top


Line a baking tin approx. 20cm square (mine is 18x24) with baking paper along the bottom and 2 sides

Preheat oven to 160ºC fan.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Sift in flour (& cornflour) and stir gently until mixture comes together.

Press evenly into baking tin, using your hands or a fork

Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden.

Meanwhile, place caramel ingredients into a heavy based pan.

sweetened condensed milk, butter, sugar

Heat very gently until sugar and butter have melted. 

Turn up the heat to medium and stir continuously while mixture boils for 5 minutes

The mixture should thicken and darken slightly.

BE CAREFUL, THE MIXTURE IS VERY HOT!!

Cool slightly and then pour over the cooked shortbread base.

Spread out evenly.

Allow to cool and firm up at room temperature for an hour or so.

Melt chocolate and cream together over a pan of barely simmering water.

Stir together to create a shiny ganache.

Pour over cooled, firm caramel and spread out evenly. Cool for a couple of hours in the tin. Voilà!