Chocolate Caramel Squares AKA Millionaire's Shortbread

When I was young, I considered anyone who was able to make Chocolate Caramel Squares to be a culinary and baking genius. They looked so indulgent and when you ate one… the snap of chocolate giving way to sweet, gooey caramel, finished off with buttery crumbly shortbread! One slice was never enough.

My grandmother was an amazingly accomplished cook and baker and was very adventurous in the things she chose to cook for the family, but oh how I envied my friend who lived across the road because her mother used to make Chocolate Caramel Squares for her family.

The first time that I made them, I burnt the caramel in my eagerness (and haste) to produce the addictive bars that I loved so absolutely. It really is crucial that you cook the ingredients for the caramel over a low heat, using a heavy based saucepan and keep stirring all the time. Otherwise the caramel will catch on the bottom of the saucepan and will burn in no time at all. Other than that, the bars are relatively easy to make and keep very well for up to a week stored in an air-tight tin.

 

I have cut these into generous sized bars, but they can be cut into smaller bite-sized morsels and served as petits fours. I have used dark chocolate to top the bars, but you can use milk or even white chocolate. I do think the slight bitter edge that dark chocolate lends is preferred as the caramel layer is so sweet.

 

You can also add a few chopped hazelnuts, or nut of your choice, to the caramel once cooked and before spreading on top of the shortbread. What I give here is the basic recipe, which can be adapted as you like. Sometimes I forgo the shortbread base and instead use one made up of puffed rice cereal and melted chocolate. This can be very tasty and is less heavy than the shortbread.

 

As alluded to in the title to this post, these bars are also known as Millionaire’s Shortbread. The origins of this name are disputed but it seems generally accepted that it reflects the rich and decadent qualities of the bar.
 

Ingredients:

Shortbread:
150g butter, softened
75g caster sugar

225g plain flour

Caramel:

397g tin of condensed milk

150g butter

100g golden syrup

To finish:

200g dark chocolate, melted

Method:

Shortbread:
1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan Oven 150C/Gas Mark 3. Line a 30cm x 20cm x 4cm oblong shallow cake tin with non-stick baking parchment.
2. Using a hand-held mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Using a wooden spoon, work in the flour to produce a dough. Press the dough into the prepared cake tin to cover the base. Spread out and level the surface using the back of a spoon. Prick the base several times with a fork. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until cooked through and just beginning to colour. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the caramel.

Caramel:

3. Place the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup into a medium/large heavy-based saucepan and heat over a moderate temperature until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Increase the heat slightly and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring frequently. The caramel will need to bubble away for approximately 12 minutes for it to reach the correct stage. When it is ready, it will have thickened and will have turned a rich golden brown colour.

4. Immediately pour the caramel on top of the shortbread base, spreading it out using the back of a metal spoon. Set aside to cool completely.

To finish:

5. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Once it is fully melted, pour it over the cooled caramel in an even layer. Set aside until cooled completely and the chocolate has set. Cut into 20 even-sized squares/bars.

Makes 20 bars.

Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding

Now this is real comfort food. Creamy tender rice simmered in milk and cream, simply flavoured with vanilla and a few rasps of freshly grated nutmeg… and a blob of homemade raspberry jam. Heaven!

I love it.

Although there are many exotic variations available these days (some using basmati rice, coconut milk) my favourite has to be the good old-fashioned version, using short-grained rice cooked in sweetened milk/cream. When the weather is horrible outside and the evenings are long and dark, one spoonful of this is like getting a huge big warming hug.

This is a pudding that reminds me of my childhood and in its simplest form, it is a very economical dish to rustle up. You can enrich it with egg yolks and butter or make it using cream alone, but I don’t think that this is absolutely necessary; as the rice cooks it releases some of its starchiness into the liquid which serves to thicken it and create a rich texture in the mouth. I do like to use a little double cream though, mainly because it lends a lovely creamy taste to the finished dish.

Rice pudding can be baked in the oven but the recipe that I give here is cooked on the hob. This creates a very creamy version without the caramelised skin that you get when you bake it, but I love both versions. This was just the one that took my fancy today!

 

I have specified “pudding rice” in the ingredients listing, which is something readily available in Irish supermarkets, but this is essentially short-grain rice and is interchangeable with any good risotto rice in this recipe. I have made it using both Arborio and Carnaroli risotto rice and they were equally as good as the “pudding rice”!

 

One last thought – I love nutmeg and I think that it is an absolute necessity in this pudding. Don’t use the ready ground version as it tends to go stale quite quickly. Add some freshly grated nutmeg just before serving and you will be rewarded with a gently spiced warmth that just compliments the creaminess of the pudding so well.

      

Ingredients:

150g pudding rice
900ml milk (full-fat)
300ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split open lengthways and the seeds scraped out

50g caster sugar

Freshly grated nutmeg

To serve:

Jam or stewed fruit of your choice
 

Method:

1. Put the rice, milk and double cream into a medium sized, heavy-based saucepan along with vanilla pod and its seeds. Bring to a gentle simmer over a low heat and cook, stirring regularly for just over an hour until the rice is soft and has swelled.
2. Stir in the sugar and add a little freshly grated nutmeg. Remove the vanilla pod.
3. Serve hot, with a generous spoonful of jam or seasonal stewed fruit on top. (I used homemade raspberry jam, because it is my favourite).

Serves 4-6.
 

Coconut Cake

I have always loved the flavour of coconut. I associate coconuts with Halloween and the winter months and think they add an exotic air to what can otherwise be a very dreary time of year. Coconut has a special place in many people’s hearts and has been used in many familiar sweets and biscuits that have been available in Ireland for decades.

Jacob’s Mikado and Coconut Cream biscuits have long been firm favourites in many an Irish household and I distinctly remember packets of them being bought for special occasions when visitors were expected. Coconut is also used in Jacob’s Polo biscuits and although a simple and plain biscuit, it is hard to stop yourself eating your way through an entire packet in one sitting!!

A particular favourite of mine are Caffreys’ Snowballs; dome shaped coconut sprinkled chocolate shells filled with soft sticky marshmallow. I loved them as a child and I still do.

In business for over 70 years Caffreys is an Irish family-run confectionary company, based in Dublin All Irish children are familiar Big Time and Macaroon Bars, Tea Cakes, Snowballs and the company’s other products.

Coconut and chocolate go very well together but I decided that for this cake, I didn’t want to go down the chocolate route. Initially I was going to fill and cover the cake with the coconut buttercream icing, but I quickly decided that some raspberry jam would compliment the taste of the coconut and lend an added fruitiness to the cake.

I wanted to create a cake that was quite frivolous looking but was in reality quite simple to make... I think that I have achieved it with this cake which is essentially a basic Victoria sponge cake with added creamed coconut and a splash of Malibu to heighten the coconut flavour. I decided to colour the sponge with a couple of drops of pink food colouring and I particularly like the effect achieved of the pink contrasting with the white of the coconut icing.

Ingredients:

175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

50g unsweetened desiccated coconut

2tblsp creamed coconut
1tblsp Malibu (optional)
1-2 drops of pink food colouring

Icing:

300g icing sugar

100g butter, softened

3tblsp creamed coconut
1tblsp Malibu (optional)

To finish:

100-125g raspberry jam

3-4tblsp unsweetened desiccated coconut (optional)
 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Butter and base-line three 15cm sandwich tins with non-stick baking parchment.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the ingredients together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well into the mixture before adding the next.
3. Sieve the flour and baking powder together and thoroughly fold into the butter and egg mixture. Add in the food colouring and mix well to fully incorporate. Gently stir in the desiccated coconut, Malibu and creamed coconut.
4. Divide the mixture evenly between the three sandwich tins and bake in the pre-heated oven for 17-20 minutes until golden and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about five minutes before removing from the tins. Place on wire racks to cool completely. When cool, remove the baking parchment.

To make the buttercream:

5. Using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the icing sugar, butter, Malibu and creamed coconut together until smooth. Spread one side of the first of the sponges with raspberry jam and then top with a thin layer of the buttercream. Place the second sponge on top of this and again spread a thin layer of the raspberry jam and then the buttercream on top. Top with the third sponge. Use the remaining buttercream to evenly cover the top and sides of the cake. If liked, sprinkle some more desiccated coconut over the sides and top of the cake.
 

Serves 8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clementine Posset with Cranberry Compote

I love desserts that are simple to make but look elegant and appear more complex to produce than they are in reality. This is one of those types of desserts and one that can be made in advance which is a distinct advantage at this busy time of year when there is so much to do in the run-up to Christmas.

This would be a wonderful dessert to serve on St. Stephen’s day, when you still want something that’s luxurious but a little lighter after all the rich fruit puddings and trifles traditionally served on Christmas Day.
 

This dessert has a lovely citrus freshness which is very refreshing on the palate. Clementines can be very sweet but the cranberry compote cuts through that sweetness to create a balanced dish. I have added a splash of Cointreau to the cranberry compote because I have always associated the orange liqueur with Christmas but also because it echoes the citrus notes of the posset.

The posset would be delicious served with a few madeleines on the side or as I have done with some stem ginger shortbread hearts.

I like to serve this dessert in small individual serving glasses  (about 70ml capacity) as I like to be able to see the colour and texture contrasts between the posset and the compote.

Ingredients:

Cranberry Compote:
150g fresh cranberries
115g caster sugar
1 tblsp Cointreau

3 tblsp water

Clementine Posset:

300ml double cream

75g caster sugar

Juice of ½ lemon

Grated Zest and juice of 1 large clementine

 

Method:

Cranberry compote:
1. Put the cranberries, caster sugar and water in a small saucepan over a moderate heat and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally but try not to break up the fruit too much. Allow simmer for about 7 minutes or until you have achieved a syrupy consistency. Remove from the heat, stir in the Cointreau and allow to cool.
2. When cool spoon a couple of generous teaspoons of the compote into each of the individual serving glasses and refrigerate while you make the posset.
Clementine posset:

3. Put the double and sugar in a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat and bring to the boil. Allow to bubble for two minutes and then remove from the heat. Add the clementine and lemon juices and the grated clementine zest and stir well.

4. Leave to cool for roughly 10 to 15 minutes and pour, dividing the mixture equally on top of the cranberry compote in the individual serving glasses. 

Serves 6.

Lebkuchen

As Christmas is almost upon us, I decided to include another recipe for a biscuit that is very popular at this time of year. It is believed that lebkuchen was originally invented by German monks in the 13^th Century. There is no hard and fast rule for the spice mix that is included in recipes for lebkuchen, but historically they always include ginger. Although the primary flavour is of is ginger, other spices are used, most usually cinnamon and nutmeg. I have experimented using different spices and the recipe that I give here is the one that I think achieves the best balance.

 

In addition to the spices mentioned above I have also included some ground cloves because I love their pungency but I do caution their judicious use, because if used excessively they are reminiscent of the mouthwash used in dental surgeries!

I also decided to include some freshly ground pepper in this recipe because I felt that it would add an extra spicy warmth to the finished biscuits. I was really pleased with how these biscuits turned out.

The real revelation was the inclusion of finely grated lemon rind. It accentuated the spiciness of the biscuits but also left a lingering fruity freshness. Ginger and lemon are classic bedfellows and I think that this is really proved here.

Due to the different spices that are sometimes used and because of regional variations, lebkuchen is also known as honigkuchen (honey cake) or pfefferkuchen (Pepper cake).

Lebkuchen is usually soft, but a harder version is made to produce the highly decorate lebkuchen heart shaped biscuits that are for sale all over Germany at Christmas time. The recipe that I give here produces a softish biscuit.
 

Ingredients:

115g dark brown muscovado sugar
85ml runny honey

30g butter

225g plain flour

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Generous pinch each of freshly ground pepper and ground cloves

Grated zest of half a lemon

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 egg, beaten

50g ground almonds

Sugar glaze:

50g icing sugar

3-4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
 

Method:

1. Make the dough the night before you intend to bake the biscuits.
2. Place the honey, butter and sugar in a large saucepan over a moderate heat. Stir occasionally until the butter and sugar have melted. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

3. Sift the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda together and mix into the melted butter and sugar mixture in two batches. Add the egg and lemon zest and mix well to fully incorporate. Then add the ground almonds and do the same.

4. The mixture will still appear to be quite sloppy, but will firm up after being chilled. Place the mixture into a bowl and cover with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight, but anything up to two days.

The following day:

5. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line two large baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.

6. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll between two sheets of non-stick baking parchment until approximately ½cm thick. Use 5cm cookie cutters of your choice (I like to use plain circles).
7. Stamp out biscuits from the dough and place on the parchment-lined baking trays.

8. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and then remove from the oven. Allow to cool on the baking trays for about five minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Sugar glaze:

9. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together to form a quite liquid solution. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the glaze onto the biscuits. Repeat and then allow the glaze to dry completely. These biscuits will keep for quite a long time if stored in an air-tight tin – anything up to two weeks. 

 

Makes approximately 20 biscuits.