STICKY CARAMEL SLICE

I have a typical London kitchen. It is tiny. It’s a lot better than some of the kitchens we looked at when we were trying to rent an apartment (one of them didn’t even have an oven) but it is still pretty small.

I do take a certain amount of pride in my bad kitchen. As Mark Bittman, speaking from his even tinier New York kitchen, said a lousy kitchen is not an excuse not to cook. In most instances you can make do with less, but I must admit there is one item that I miss from my spacious Australian kitchen. My food processor. There is just no room in my London kitchen for a food processor, as it is we have to limit the amount of pantry items we buy. So I tuck away recipes for some future undetermined date noting the need for a food processor and meanwhile I flag food processor free recipes for immediate concoction and consumption.

From these food processor free archives I am delighted to present this recipe for sticky caramel slice. The slice is super sweet and super addictive. Lovely with a cup of tea or as a present. You will need a stove top, oven and some elbow grease but you will not need a food processor. Hurrah.

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
125g butter melted
Caramel
1/3 cup golden syrup
125g butter melted
2x 400g cans condensed milk
Topping
185g dark chocolate
3 tbsp sunflower oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200 celsius and line a slice tin with baking paper (or grease proof paper as it is called in the UK). My tin is 20 x 30cm

2. Stir the dessicated coconut, melted butter, flour and sugar with a wooden spoon in a bowl until combined and then press firmly into the base of the tin to form an even layer.

3. Bake the base for 15 mins or until slightly golden.

4. Meanwhile mix the caramel ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes or until the caramel mixture starts to thicken while stirring so that it does not burn. It is important not to neglect the caramel.

5. Pour the caramel mixture over the base and return to the oven for 15 mins or until the caramel mixture starts to bubble and brown.

6. Remove from the oven and chill in the fridge. Once chilled combine the chocolate and sunflower oil in a saucepan over low heat and mix together until the chocolate is melted.

7. Allow to cool slightly then pour the chocolate over the slice. Refrigerate until hard and then cut into bite size squares.

Tip: you can sometimes get away without using a food processor in recipes that call for a food processor. If the requirement is for nuts or seeds to be ground try putting them in a zip lock bag and bashing them with a rolling pin. Great for getting rid of aggression as well.

If you liked this you may also like other sweet tooth recipes for fresh berry tartlets or raspberry spiked chocolate brownies. Both food processor free of course.