members recipes

cooking time 35 minutes serves 20-24 store in an airtight tin for up to one week variation- add 50g chopped pecans or walnuts to the caramel just before spreading over the base

Ingredients
SHORTBREAD BASE
300g self- raising flour
175g butter or margarine
50g suger

CARMEL
1 tin condensed milk (397g)
100g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
100g brown sugar

TOPPING
150g chocolate
EQUIPMENT:
heavy- based saucepan, pot stand, wooden spoon, cutlery, liquidiser/processor or rolling pin and polythene bag, small bowl, spatula, swiss roll tin or two sandwich tins

Method
preheat oven to 170°c/ fan 160°c/gas mark 4.
1. SHORTBREAD BASE: rub butter into flour and sugar. tip into greased swiss roll tin, smooth down gently using the back of a floured tablespoon. cook for 20-25 minutes in the oven until golden. leave to cool in the tin.

2.CARAMEL: do not taste as it becomes VERY HOT and burns. melt butter, sugar, syrup and condensed milk in saucepan over medium heat, stirring all the time. use spatula to clean out tin when butter has melted and mixture is bubbling slowly but steadily, start timing 8-10 minutes. be careful as this can burn easily, stir into the corners and all around the bottom of pot steadily

3. when mixture has coloured a little and is thicker but still pouring consistency, remove from heat. pour it over the shortbread base, spread with knife. do not lick the caramel as it BURNS! ( to wash saucepan, fill with hot water, bring to the boil, remove to sink and wash in the usual way) allow caramel to cool.

4. CHOCOLATE TOPPING: break chocolate into bowl, add the butter an icing sugar. fit bowl over simmering water(or microwave) if the water is boiling turn heat off so the heat from the water is melting it. spread over the cool caramel,leave to set for 2 houres. when hard cut into 3cm squares, neat fingers, triangles or hearts and serve.