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2011 Cooking Club Week 39: Caramel Squares

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  • Registered Users Posts: 40,055 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    So not so much a caramel slice v2.0 as a crunchie bar with caramel?
    Hm. Oddly, they don't seem to make those. Interesting (maybe the caramel softens the honeycomb too fast to get to a shelf?).

    I'd been thinking of ripping off what they do for the crunchie biscuits (put chunks of honeycomb in the biscuit base) but that idea's an interesting one. Plus, if I used small silicone muffin moulds for the honeycomb, I wouldnt' even have to cut them (which is a pain to do, cadburys don't even use a knife for it, they use a liquid cutting thingy that uses a high-velocity jet of oil). Well, that's my weekend cooking experiment so :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,339 ✭✭✭The One Doctor


    Made the caramel squares this week, they were easy and delicious.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,324 ✭✭✭.red.


    I chanced a halloween caramel slice today for a kids party. White choc topping, a milk choc web, big spider and a few flies and it didnt turn out too bad.
    Ill never win any prizes for the craft of cake decoration but itll do the job lol.
    sorry, i still dont know how to put pics up direct


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Wow, that looks excellent! Those flies are unsettlingly real looking...


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,324 ✭✭✭.red.


    Faith wrote: »
    Wow, that looks excellent! Those flies are unsettlingly real looking...
    Eh ya, i eh, spent hours working sugar to make the flies!
    €1.50 in the eurostore for a bag of them. Couldnt find a smaller spider tho.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 6,602 ✭✭✭Luckycharms_74


    My 1st attempt last night.
    I used faiths recipe but added another stage which i saw from another recipe.
    I also didn't have brown sugar so had to use regular sugar
    After cooking the caramel I baked it back in the oven for about 8 mins.
    I haven't tasted it yet but my work colleagues have devoured them early this morning :)

    7VucLYy.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,858 ✭✭✭homemadecider


    I just made a tray of these to bring to an all-day department meeting tomorrow. I suspect my colleagues will love me!


  • Registered Users Posts: 10 Clionam22


    I've tried out every type of caramel I could think of and the tastiest, quickest & cheapest one I've come up with is:

    300 g toffees (Aldis dairy toffees)
    2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
    100g golden syrup
    20g double cream
    1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt flakes (Depending on your taste, I love a lot of salt)

    So I just melt everything together in a saucepan over a low heat till well combined then pour & spread it onto my shortbread & pop it into the fridge while I melt the chocolate.

    If anyone gives this a go let me know what you think :) I'm going to try it out with Baileys or coffee extract next


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,858 ✭✭✭homemadecider


    These are the wee beauties I took to work this morning. Everyone got very polite when there was only one left - the rest got scoffed in record time. Fab recipe, thanks a million Faith.

    lFMwer0.jpg?1


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    That's a lovely shortbread! Mine usually crumbles a lot more than yours :)


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  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    I made these last night for a Christmas potluck at my new job. The caramel is softer than I'd like and the chocolate bloomed a bit and cracked when I sliced it :mad:. I get so perfectionistic about this recipe!

    My shortbread is also very, very crumbly. I'm going to increase the flour by 25g the next time to get a 3:2:1 ratio of flour:butter:sugar to see if that helps.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,108 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    It'll be the different flour etc. After a couple of tweaks you'll perfect them again :)


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,108 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    Mr. Dizzy made these again today (they are now his signature bake). When you haven't had them for a while you forget how amazing they are :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,286 ✭✭✭Sunny Dayz


    Made these this evening for a little get together tomorrow. Not sure if my caramel has come out right. It's pale in colour and after an hour of cooling it's squishy to touch. Have put it in the fridge overnight to see if that does anything.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Sounds a little undercooked :). It should still taste good but it'll just be squishy so you'll need to be careful when eating them.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,698 ✭✭✭✭Princess Peach


    How long do these stay fresh? Want to make them for work on Monday morning, so rainy today I would make them this afternoon, will they still be good Monday?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,324 ✭✭✭.red.


    How long do these stay fresh? Want to make them for work on Monday morning, so rainy today I would make them this afternoon, will they still be good Monday?

    They will stay fresh in a sealed Tupperware box. If they actually last till Monday then it means their not made properly lol.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    How long do these stay fresh? Want to make them for work on Monday morning, so rainy today I would make them this afternoon, will they still be good Monday?

    I have never seen them last long enough to go stale!

    But if you make them today, just to be sure, don't cut them until tomorrow. The chocolate and caramel will prevent air getting to the shortbread and making it stale. If your kitchen is humid, put a tea towel tightly over the whole thing to stop the chocolate blooming :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,174 ✭✭✭RhubarbCrumble


    Sunny Dayz wrote: »
    Made these this evening for a little get together tomorrow. Not sure if my caramel has come out right. It's pale in colour and after an hour of cooling it's squishy to touch. Have put it in the fridge overnight to see if that does anything.

    I've made these a few times and my caramel always seems to be a bit squishy, but they still taste absolutely divine and I've never had any complaints :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,286 ✭✭✭Sunny Dayz


    Caramel squares were a bit squishy but were eaten!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 18,150 ✭✭✭✭Malari


    I try to cut mine before the chocolate hardens completely because otherwise it cracks and it's a big mess and you have to eat loads of scrappy bits while you cut them up.

    Last time I wanted to do a quick version and I used the pre-caramelised caramel condensed milk. It ended up being too funny, really, but it was still very tasty. I think I'll attempt the old fashioned version again later.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3 FalseGlimmer


    I've only discovered this forum recently and was inspired to try out some of these recipes.

    Here is my second attempt at doing the caramel squares. imgur [dot] com/a/oW5ZE (I don't appear to be able to embed images) I'm much happier about how these turned out compared to my first attempt!


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    I'm been meaning to post this for ages, but if you sub in 50g of cornflour into the base (so 150g plain flour, 50g cornflour), it does wonders for the shortbread :). Makes it less crumbly and more crispy, so less messy!

    I'm in the process of making these right now, but it's a two-day affair due to time. I'll post a picture once they're done :)


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Finally got the pictures ready (but aside: when did imgur turn to sh*t? It took me forever to get these online, and I had to use tinypic.)

    34qmsfk.jpg

    351zwx1.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,680 ✭✭✭confusticated


    Made these again last week, for some reason I couldn't get the shortbread to spread out enough so I ended up making about half the quantity again and adding it, and unsurprisingly the biscuit layer was way too thick in the end. Think I needed to just squish it more...ah well. Tasted great as always, it's a lovely caramel and sets nice and fast.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,487 ✭✭✭Tipperary animal lover


    Just made these omg all I can say mmmmm


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,150 ✭✭✭✭Malari


    I made them again too, recently. They are a sure fire winner!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,487 ✭✭✭Tipperary animal lover


    Just a question for all ye cooking gods.... What other type of topping can go on top of that delicious base?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,801 ✭✭✭Dubl07


    Just a question for all ye cooking gods.... What other type of topping can go on top of that delicious base?
    My late aunt used condensed milk, icing sugar and mint extract for the middle layer, then a thin top layer of dark chocolate. Gorgeous.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,801 ✭✭✭Dubl07


    I see some people are burning the toffee on the hob. I've been making these since I was a pre-teen and I used to have the same difficulty but for the last 25 years or more, I've been using a very big (3L) pyrex glass bowl with little wings/handles at the side. Bear with me - this method's a lot easier than all the writing might suggest.

    Before I do anything else, I heat the butter and sugar for the toffee in the bowl at a medium power until the butter is fully melted and liquid, stir them together well and only then get started on the base. This really helps dissolve the sugar into the fat.

    When the base is made and out of the oven and I can give the caramel my full attention, I gather a large plate (instead of a spoon-rest), a silicone spatula and oven gloves with grippy fingers and palms.

    Add the condensed milk and syrup to the bowl. Heat at full power for a minute. Take out and stir. Repeat for a minute at a time at full power until it begins to bubble. The bowl will start getting hot. Use the oven gloves.
    Then I heat for 30 second bursts and stir until the bubbles dissipate. When the mixture begins to climb higher I take it out after 20 or even 10 seconds ie when it's about an inch from the top. Sometimes I just pause it and let the bubbles fall, then do another 20/10 second cycle. Only set the micro for those ten or twenty seconds each time. If the phone goes or someone comes to the door it will auto-stop and won't overflow and make a huge mess.

    You really should be distraction free with no small children or pets in the room as you're lifting a bowl of very hot toffee in and out and you also need to watch it like a hawk so it doesn't bubble over - that's why I find the transparent bowl is best. The good thing is though, that you can cancel the micro at any stage and then bring it back up to heat. The drips from the spatula will go from a pale smear on the plate to a deep-golden, raised hemisphere that is nice and solid. It usually takes me around 10/15 minutes in total after adding the milk and syrup depending on the humidity.

    PS: A balloon whisk is great if it looks as if it's splitting - a little elbow-grease will bring it all back together.


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