Best Ever Caramel Slice

Ok, so that's a big call, but one I think is well deserved. Since finding this recipe, it is the only caramel slice I will make. The flavour is rich, the caramel is thick, the base crunchy and I really could eat this until I vomit. My complete lack of self control means I come close, everytime I allow this beautifully indulgent treat to make it into my kitchen.

So where does one find a recipe for the Best Ever Caramel Slice? On the back of a Nestle Plaistowe Premium Milk cooking chocolate packet. I love giving "back-of-a-packet" recipes a go. Well, I love giving any recipe a go but there's an element of excitement involved when you're creating the dish that sold you the product right? Ok, maybe I am the only one who gets kicks out of that, but if you give this one a go I'm sure you'll be singing its praise.

Base
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa (I used Dutched)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter, melted
Filling
395g can sweetened condensed milk (I used the skimmed version)
2 tbsp golden syrup
60g butter
Topping
200g milk chocolate (that's where the packet comes in, but now I have the recipe I normally use Callebaut 34%)

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a slice pan (the recipe specified 26cm x 16cm but I only have a 20cm x 20cm).
2. Combine sifted flour, sifted cocoa, sugar, coconut and melted butter in a mixing bowl. When combined, press into the base of the pan. Bake for 15 mins or until lightly browned.
3. Combine filling ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium heat for 10 minutes or until butter has melted and caramel is smooth. Pour over base and return to oven for 10-12 minutes. Watch it to make sure the caramel doesn't burn. Refrigerate 3-4hrs (I've gotten away with 2hrs before).
4. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, being sure not to let the bowl touch the water. (The original recipe combined 50g melted Copha to the chocolate. It makes the slice easier to cut as the chocolate doesn't set so hard, but I detest Copha and never use it. You could add a dash of vegetable oil for similar effect, but I just deal with hard chocolate, or heat a knife for cutting.) Refrigerate 1 hr or until set. Cut into squares.

You can see from the pictures what happens when the Copha is omitted: the cold chocolate cracks when you cut it. For me, that's a small price to pay, and I have never had anyone complain their chocolate was cracked. It's not show-worthy, but it's pretty damn good.

The only reason I could justify making this, is that I'm running 28kms in the morning, taking this week's total to around 55kms. Still not enough to burn off the whole slice, but enough to allow me a couple of pieces. This slice is divine, but it is evil, and is best made for sharing. Even better is if you can take it somewhere (birthday or a morning tea for example), have a piece or two yourself, then leave the rest there!

One week - two races

Running post alert!

With the gypsy lifestyle fast approaching (more on that matter another time), I have been getting in as much running and racing as I can before we leave civilisation as we know it. Last week was a busy one with two races 6 days apart.


Monday 9th April was the Mt Helena 40 Miler and Relay. Forty miles is 64km, and this off-road race is run on a heritage trail that used to be train line, beginning about 35km east of Perth. I half joked to my running buddy a few months ago that we could do this in a team of two, so 32km each. Neither of us had run that distance before, but the jokes got a little more serious and we eventually agreed to register. About a week before the race my partner injured her leg and was unable to run. I was disappointed at not being able to do this race, but not as disappointed as she was at not being able to run at all. Some more half joking took place with an old friend who also runs, and after a bit of deliberation he agreed to run with me! So off we trekked at 5am through thick fog to the Mt Helena Tavern - the start and finish point to the race.

To ease the pain of 32km, we broke the race up into relay legs, each running a 14km and two 9km legs. My friend started with the first 14km, which he ran in excellent time. My first leg was a very shallow uphill 9km. It was still early and the sun wasn't too hot, so I went out pretty hard. Maybe a little too hard for what was still ahead of me, finishing the 9kms with a 4:50min/km average. I felt great, like I could run another 23km (phew!). I got in the car, drove to the next transition point and waited. My next leg was 14kms, a slight downhill out and a slight uphill back. Downhill was good and I ran fast, but things were certainly heating up. The forecast was 31C and it was getting up there. The uphill return was painful. I slowed right down and began to question how I would make it through the last leg, but told myself "just one more to go" and made it to the top of the hill, handed over our relay wrist band and sucked some electrolyte life back into me.

By this point Hubby and the munchkins had arrived to cheer us on. The babes played "running races" in the bush and hunted for bugs while I got ready for my last 9km. It was now after 11 and the sun was very high and getting hot. We drove to the start point and waited. I knew this leg would be the slowest. We were hot and tiring, but just wanted to finish! My friend arrived and I took off. My legs made it known that they were tired, but off they went until they found a rhythm, albeit a slower one that the first 9km. This leg was a mental challenge more than a physical one. My injured running buddy recently shared a quote she found in a running book: "your mind is weaker than your body". This is definitely true. It was my mind that made my legs stop running with 3km to go. Thanks goodness my mind also realised that was a silly mistake and 10 or so seconds and a good mouthful of water later, I started running again. I even managed to pick up the pace a little in the last km, and we finished a 64km race in 5hrs 24mins. That put out average pace at just over 5min/kms and we both ran at almost the exact same pace overall! I can't thank my friend enough for agreeing to run with me. It was one of my biggest running achievements so far.


So.......over the course of the week it became clear that my injured running buddy wouldn't be ready to do the 10km run of the inaugural Shoalwater Classic Olympic Distance triathlon on 15th April, that she had entered with two of her friends. Although not quite as fast as her, I took her place. I have been a club member for the organising club for the last 2 years, so running with (or against) my friends would be fun. Ten km may sound like a long way, but it's the kind of distance that you have to run really fast to be competitive. I find running fast very satisfying, but not very enjoyable. I hadn't run a 10km race since November, and I've come a long way since then so really wanted to give it a good shot. I thought I might be able to run sub 45mins (or 4:30min/km pace). The morning was perfect, the course was familiar (I run it several times a week) and the atmosphere at the race was great. It was really exciting. Our swimmer and rider both did great, and then it was my turn. I started off really strong. That first km was fast, and I was a little worried it was too fast to sustain. Of course it was, but it had given me a good start toward that 45 min goal. The course ran 2 5km laps, and by the end of the first I was hot and starting to doubt if I could finish strong (that evil mind again). My splits were all over the place but by about the 7km mark I tried to pick it up and keep it there. It turned out someone had moved the turn around cone sometime between setup and the start of the race, so the total distance fell a bit short of the 10kms, but I managed to run an average pace of 4:27min/km and ran the 5th fastest female time. Woohoo! Keep in mind some of the phenomenal athletes that ran faster than me had also just completed a 1.5km swim and a 40km bike ride (which I had not), so while I was super proud of my time there were some pretty spectacular people out there. It wasn't fun, it hurt physically and mentally, but I'd run the fastest (almost) 10km I'd ever run. Crossing the line with lots of familiar faces and familiar voices cheering was so uplifting. It definitely made the pain worth it, and I hope I did my running buddy proud.

Where to from here? The Perth 32km, the last race before life as I know it changes for a while. I'm still undecided whether to run the 32km distance or try to get that sub 45min 10km, another distance option for the same race. I'm sure whichever I choose, it'll be a great last race for a while, and I might even treat myself to a massage once it's done.

Muesli Bars and Easter Chocolates

My girls love muesli bars. They love everything about them: oats, seeds, any type of dried fruit, nuts, you name it. I sometimes buy commercial muesli bars just so I have some on hand, but I am trying to minimise the amount of processed food we all eat so I've been more disciplined in making my own muesli bars lately. Apologies for blowing my own trumpet, my muesli bars taste pretty damn good, but as a result hubby and I tend to eat a little more than we should. Never the less, I would prefer we were all eating homemade snacks rather than shop-bought ones so I'll have to work a little harder on that self-control.

My good friend Amber at Feather on a Breeze gave me her recipe one day when we were both complaining about not being able make muesli bars that held together as well as commercial ones. I took her recipe and changed it to suit our tastes. While the ingredients sometimes vary, depending on what I have on hand, this is the most common combination:

125g butter

2 tbsp golden syrup

1/3 cup raw sugar

1 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/3 cup desiccated coconut

1/3 cup sunflower kernel and pepita mix
1/3 cup currants

2/3 cup wholemeal self raising flour

1. Preheat oven to 130C (fan forced).
   
2. Melt butter, sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat until butter is melted and sugar is just about dissolved (it isn't imperative that the sugar is completely dissolved, and you can do this step in the microwave if you're short of time).
3. Combine butter mixture with all other ingredients and mix to combine.
4. Turn mixture out into a lined 20cm x 20cm cake tin and press down to flatten. Wetting your hands a little helps with this.
   
5. Bake for up to an hour, until golden brown on the top. (I've never been game enough to leave it in for the full hour but it does hold together better the longer it's baked, just be careful not to let the top burn.)
6. Leave to cool in the tin before cutting.
   

A batch rarely lasts more than a couple of days in this house, but it will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

I wanted to make some chocolates for easter this year, but didn't get organised and couldn't find any easter moulds in time. I really should order some online now just so I have them for next year. I did however find some cute silicone ice cube trays for next to nothing in Big W. I've used silicone trays to make chocolates before and they work really well so I splurged and bought 3 (for the grand total of $3.50).

This afternoon I melted down 200g of Callebaut 811 dark (54%) callets and 200g of Callebaut 823 milk (34%) callets. I find this combination doesn't offend those not in love with dark chocolate, but is a little more grown up than a plain milk chocolate. I poured a little of the melted chocolate into both the star and the heart moulds, then in the centre of each star I placed a whole hazelnut. In the centre of each heart I placed a whole macadamia nut and then poured some more chocolate in the moulds to cover the nuts. To the remaining melted chocolate I mixed slivered almonds, then filled each cross mould. These didn't take too long to set in the fridge and the results, while not particularly eastery, are cute and delicious (I have sampled one of each so can vouch for all of them).


I haven't been game enough to give chocolate tempering a try yet, so you'll have to forgive my chocolates for their not so glossy finish. In saying that, the stars still reflect a bit of light. We're having an egg (or star, heart and cross) hunt with the littlies on Sunday. I'm sure they won't judge me for my lack of tempering skills.


I hope everyone has a happy and safe easter. Try not to eat too much chocolate!

In My Kitchen - April 2012

This is a very exciting In My Kitchen post. My much anticipated food processor has arrived! A local electrical store had the Kenwood Multipro on sale so I spoilt myself. Isn't she pretty? Beauty is not just skin (or plastic/stainless steel) deep however, she is oh so functional! I could not believe the size of the box when I first saw it. This baby has got every attachment you could possibly dream of. It has two bowl sizes each with their own blade, a glass "liquidiser" (or a blender jug for us commoners), a citrus press, a centrifugal juicer and a grinding mill to name a few. You can also chop your carrots any way you choose with one of four cutting discs, mix dough, whisk eggs and process to your heart's content. I'm sure I won't use ALL of those features, but I could if I wanted to right?


And she has variable speed, so I can do all those things as fast or as slow as I like.


So, as promised, the first thing I made (or possibly the second) was chocolate macadamia nut butter. This is super easy to make. All that was involved was 3 cups of macadamia nuts (I probably could have gotten away with 2 for my first batch as I had a little more than would fit into one jar), 2 tbsp of dutched cocoa powder and about 2 tbsp of honey. Process the nuts until the oil breaks down and they become creamy, no added liquid or oil required. Once the mixture is a paste, add the cocoa and honey and process. I really had no idea how much cocoa or honey to add so I just kept going until I liked the taste. Because there is no sugar, it's not overly sweet, but the macadamias are quite sweet in themselves. It tastes more like a peanut butter than a nutella, but with the cocoa and honey it has replaced nutella on my morning toast and I feel much less guilty.


Also in my kitchen is some lovely basil pesto which until now, I have been unable to make. I have an abundance of basil in the garden so I was very excited to put it to good use. This is great stirred through spaghetti, or even on toast. I am a huge parmesan fan, so this is a big winner in my kitchen. Like the Aussie that I am, I stored my pesto in a Vegemite jar.


I have some muesli bars in the oven, but they're not ready and I've been trying to get this post out for long enough, so I'll save muesli bars for another day. It's kind of nice to dedicate this month's In My Kitchen to the food processor anyway, given how much I have anticipated its arrival. Take a look at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to see what's happening in some other kitchens around the world!

Comfort Food

After a busy weekend down south including a triathlon and our first camping trip in the home-made camper trailer, I was in the mood for something with a high satisfaction to preparation time ratio. Something where I could put in little effort but reap tasty benefits. The solution: pizza and crumble, two of my "comfort foods".

Pizzas are a dinner that hubby loves, the girls will eat, and are almost as quick to prep as a salad. I always use some sort of wrap or flat bread as a base. We love our bases thin and crispy, and while I've made my own before, we still prefer a simple wholemeal wrap. Toppings vary depending on what is in the fridge at the time. Sometimes I use home-made pasta sauce, tomato paste or BBQ sauce. Yesterday I tried a shop bought pizza sauce which was basically tomato paste with herbs mixed through. It wasn't anything phenomenal but it was still nice. Chicky is fussy when it comes to toppings. Last night her pizza was topped with mozzarella cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, capsicum and green olives. The rest of us also had field mushroom, pepperoni and baby spinach. I managed to grab a photo before they went into the oven, but you've got to move quick around food in this house, and as soon as they were cooked they were being eaten, so unfortunately I didn't get a "finished" photo.


Dessert was apple and rhubarb crumble. I put this in the oven then went to the gym. When I came home half of it was gone, and the rest was in no way photogenic, so the "before" shot of the rhubarb will have to do.


This is my favourite crumble recipe. It's loosely based on a recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks: Cooking Class Basic. It's not terribly evil so I don't feel like I'm completely ruining a week of exercise by eating it.

4 stalks rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces (from the garden)
2 apples peeled and sliced thinly
1 tbsp raw sugar
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp dessicated coconut
1/3 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
40g butter, chopped
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1. Place rhubarb, apple and raw sugar in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar starts to dissolve. When sugar has dissolved, cover and simmer until fruit has stewed and rhubarb is soft.
2. Combine butter, coconut, flour, cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl and rub between your fingertips until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Mix oats through.
3. Place stewed fruit in a baking dish and top with crumble mixture. Bake at 180C for about 30mins or until the crumble is golden brown.
   

I love crumble served hot with vanilla icecream, but it's also very yummy drowned in custard. I also vary the fruit that I use. Apple and raspberry is another great combination. You can even use tinned baking apples and frozen berries to cut down on the prep even more.