2011 Cooking Club Week 39: Caramel Squares

Definitely going to try these. Have tried caramel squares twice and the first time I think I must have done something wrong with the base because it all stayed in the tin when I tried to take them out at the very end.
Last weekend I tried a different recipe and they were so greasy and horrible, they even had butter in the chocolate topping. Were horrible!

Need to find the 'perfect' recipe so hoping this is it

One thing I do think makes them look very impressive is if you drizzle a small bit of white chocolate over the top of them and then drag a fork/skewer over it to feather it in.

Faith wrote: »

:pac:those manky-looking (IMO) mass-produced ones that you see in supermarkets and the like. I want a recipe that is almost a heart attack in a square

You're right, the shop-bought ones promise so much but just don't deliver. Like a scone or muffin where someone has been scroungy with the butter!

So, I made them. And I don't have a photo!

They were absolutely fabulous!

A couple of things...

I made mine with evaporated milk, not condensed milk. i added the sugar amount that you specified and it worked out just fine. It turned out thick and deep brown. I used evaporated milk because I had two tins of it in the press that were gathering dust.

When cooking the milk and sugar, I stirred it until melted, set the heat to simmer, put the lid on the pot and simply neglected it for an hour and a half or so. Turned out just fine.

With the sugar I also used what I had: half white caster and half muscovado.

The biscuit base was great, too!

I will be making it again soon with the other tin that I still have left!

Thanks, Trí. There are some nice photos up already, though!

I'm going to make these again next week! :pac:

Batch number 4 to be made tomorrow - herself and bump heartily approve that recipe Faith

Finally got a photo or two.
From batch #2, which used the dark brown sugar for the caramel and had one half done with milk chocolate topping (I like a lot of topping, sue me ) and the other with white chocolate (G&B's white chocolate):

Squeezy tube? Excellent, thanks everyone! Will get baking

Faith wrote: »

They look fantastic, Sparks! Did you double the caramel recipe?

Not for that batch, no - just used fewer tins
First batch was double your recipe into two 14x24cm tins and an 18x18 tin; the batch in the photos used your recipe's amounts into one 14x24 for the milk chocolate and the 18x18 for the white chocolate.

...and that's batch #3 in the freezer
Getting great milage out of this one Faith!

Just thinking there, are these like Toffee Pops? If they are, well then I'll be making them post-haste!

Just need to get my hands on the narcotics that they put in Toffee Pops!

So I made these again!

I brought them into work and they were very well received.

I'll be making them again next week and will take a photo of them then.

My tip on doing the chocolate would be...

I msyelf like "yielding" chocolate rather than hard. I find that a teaspoonful or two of cream or sour cream added to the melted chocolate - to make a kind of ganache - works great. After the slab is chilled in the fridge for a few hours it is at the right level of firmness to allow it to be cut cleanly. If you want it that way, of course.

I had a go at this today. I only had a round tin so made use of it. The caramel didn't set as much as I would have thought but it was grand. I also used a bit more chocolate than others but instead of chucking it out I lobed more on top.

Edit: I forgot to mention that were bloody gorgeous!

Mine are in the fridge now and look yum! Just wondering if people normally cut the chocolate before its fully set or is it ok to cut when it's fully set?
Just have visions of trying to cut it and all caramel coming out the edges and none left in the middle!

Right I'm all done now, came out really well. Thanks Faith!
One question though - do you normally store them in the fridge or not?

I've tried Caramel Squares a few times before and was always a disaster, once the base fell apart when I cut them, another time the chocolate was too oily cause the receipe had butter/oil in it, another time the caramel split so this is the first time they've worked out and tasted nice!

Here's a pic - I made them in two tins because I didn't have one that was the right size but had two that added together to the right size. One's more a loaf tin so the slices from that are more caramel rectangles than squares.

Hubbie doesn't even like caramel squares normally but he still likes them so I'd call that a success

Although I can't wait til my daughter is old enough that I can get her to stand at the caramel for all that time it needs stirring.

I've never posted in this forum even though I've been using it for the past half a year!
I'm a student who could barely butter their own toast 6 months ago; now have a few recipes under my belt and this is one of my favourites
This is my second time making it, thought I might try and make it look a bit fancy by pouring some melted white chocolate over the top while the milk chocolate was still soft, and trying to decorate it a bit by ermmm....flicking? the white chocolate with a tooth-pick :cool:
Might have gone a bit overboard with the amount used but I'm looking forward to it setting!
If I can get a pic before myself & the rest of the family devour it I'll try and post it up, but for now:





Many thanks for the recipe!