I've been making very simple caramel slices recently - a layer of
shortbread, followed by a caramel layer, followed by a chocolate
topping. When I buy these in many shops, the top chocolate layer is
firm but not hard and brittle, whereas using just melted chocolate
gives a hard brittle top once set, so you can only have a very thin
layer withou breaking peoples teeth! Any idea swhat I can do to improve
this, and make the topping slightly softer? Icing isn't the right stuff
at all - Perhaps add more milk to the melted chocolate...?

Very basic question really, I wonder if anyone out there has an answer?

Cheers,


Ben

On 17 May 2006 13:45:26 -0700, "Ben"
wrote:

I've been making very simple caramel slices recently - a layer of
shortbread, followed by a caramel layer, followed by a chocolate
topping. When I buy these in many shops, the top chocolate layer is
firm but not hard and brittle, whereas using just melted chocolate
gives a hard brittle top once set, so you can only have a very thin
layer withou breaking peoples teeth! Any idea swhat I can do to improve
this, and make the topping slightly softer? Icing isn't the right stuff
at all - Perhaps add more milk to the melted chocolate...?

Very basic question really, I wonder if anyone out there has an answer?

Cheers,


Ben
If you want a soft chocolate topping, make a ganache. It's amazingly
easy to do - you need equal parts of chocolate and heavy cream. The
chocolate should be chopped into small bits - I just use chocolate
chips. Bring the cream to a boil (you can do this in a saucepan, or
the microwave). Remove from heat, dump the chocolate in all at once
and stir. It will look absolutely hideous for a few minutes, but keep
stirring because all of a sudden the chocolate and the cream will
incorporate and you have this rich, glossy, smooth chocolate mixture.
Let it cool, the spread on top of your cake. It's that easy.

Cathy

Ben wrote:
When I buy these in many shops, the top chocolate layer is
firm but not hard and brittle, whereas using just melted chocolate
gives a hard brittle top once set, so you can only have a very thin
layer withou breaking peoples teeth! Any idea swhat I can do to improve
this, and make the topping slightly softer? Icing isn't the right stuff
at all - Perhaps add more milk to the melted chocolate...?

Very basic question really, I wonder if anyone out there has an answer?



When I do melted chocolate for dipping fruit or pretzels, I add 1 T of
shortening/Crisco to the chocolate as it's melting. That keeps it
softer when it sets. (1 T for a bag of chocolate chips, which is 12 oz
I believe.) You might want t try that.

But in exchange for my advice, I require that you post your recipe.

=)

I'm afraid I can't claim this recipe as my own - it was pulled a while
back off the web after a google search :-). It is extremely quick, and
works nicely - except for the chocolate setting so hard! One pointer
though:

I made the mistake when I first made them of leaving the shortbread in
the oven until it felt reasonably firm. By the time it had cooled, you
could have used it for foundations. After 10 or 15 minutes it will seem
extremely un-cooked, but really is done once cooled!

Base:
140g Plain Flour
55g castor sugar
85g butter

Filling:
110g butter
110g brown sugar
2 Tbsp golden syrup
400ml tin Condensed Milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Topping;
140g cooking chocolate


1. Mix together castor sugar and flour for base. Melt butter and add to
flour mixture.
2. Press into a 7/8 inch square tin and bake for 20 minutes in a
moderate oven.
3. Place all filling ingrediants into a pot and cook on very low heat
till butter is melted. Turn right down to a simmer and simmer till
caramel colour, around 8 minutes.
4. Pour caramel over base and allow to cool.
5. Melt chocolate and pour over caramel.
6. Allow to set.

at Wed, 17 May 2006 20:45:26 GMT in 1147898726.520623.265470
@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com, (Ben) wrote :

I've been making very simple caramel slices recently - a layer of
shortbread, followed by a caramel layer, followed by a chocolate
topping. When I buy these in many shops, the top chocolate layer is
firm but not hard and brittle, whereas using just melted chocolate
gives a hard brittle top once set, so you can only have a very thin
layer withou breaking peoples teeth! Any idea swhat I can do to improve
this, and make the topping slightly softer? Icing isn't the right stuff
at all - Perhaps add more milk to the melted chocolate...?


No problem - you just need to temper the chocolate. Part of your problem
was probably simply attempting to melt the chocolate and pour it on top.
Chocolate (or to be exact cocoa butter) unfortunately, has many crystal
forms, and when you don't temper it, it settles into a random arrangement,
resulting generally in hard, brittle coatings (and probably you had some
swirling as well).

To temper, after melting the chocolate, pour about 1/2 out on a marble slab
(or other cool, nonporous surface) and then spade it around with a palette
knife or metal spatula until it just starts to solidify. Quickly stir it
back into the rest of the chocolate until smooth. At this point your
chocolate should be in temper and you can pour over your slices. Don't
delay, though, because tempered chocolate solidifies quickly.

You can also use the "seed" method, in which you reserve a small amount of
unmelted chocolate, then after you've melted the rest, allow it to cool
until about 31 C/88 F, stir in the seed, and then quickly pour.

With a tempering thermometer you can devise full profiles. Your initial
melted chocolate should be about 50 C/120 F. The just-solidifying chocolate
on the slab should be about 28 C/82 F. And the recombined mixture should be
about 31 C/88 F.

I see 2 other suggestions: to use chocolate chips or to mix with Crisco. I
wouldn't recommend either. Chocolate chips have less cocoa butter, which
will make your brittleness problem worse, not better, and Crisco inevitably
makes for a pastier, less appealing mouthfeel. You do need, btw, to use a
chocolate with reasonably high cocoa butter - at least 35% and preferably
40% - commonly although somewhat obscurely known as "couverture" - which
shouldn't be an intimidating term because most chocolate bars designed for
straight eating are couverture. However, this is not always the case in
chocolate bars labelled for baking or cooking, so buying an eating bar or
couverture bloc is safer.

If you want softer than this, you can make butter ganache - where you melt
2 parts chocolate with 1 part butter, mix carefully, cool until pourable
but not truly fluid, and pour over. However, I think what you're looking
for is simply the consistency of tempered chocolate.


--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

On 17 May 2006 15:10:45 -0700, "Ben"
wrote:

Here's a tip to make a gorgeously crunchy (but not rockhard) base...
instead of using castor sugar, use raw sugar in the base... if you're
in a part of the world where you can get it, dessicated coconut is
gorgeous in there too. I'll post our recipe in a minute

I'm afraid I can't claim this recipe as my own - it was pulled a while
back off the web after a google search :-). It is extremely quick, and
works nicely - except for the chocolate setting so hard! One pointer
though:

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SLICE

INGREDIENTS:


BASE

1 cup self raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup raw sugar
125g butter or margarine, melted

CARAMEL

30g butter or margarine
3 tablespoons golden syrup
400g can condensed milk

ICING

1½ cups icing sugar
½ cup drinking chocolate
90g Copha, melted


METHOD

BASE

Set oven temperature to moderate (180° C.) Grease a 28 x 18 cm
lamington tin with melted butter or margarine.

Sift flour into a mixing bowl, add coconut and sugar, mix well and
stir in melted butter or margarine. Press coconut mixture into
prepared tin. Bake for 15 minutes or until just firm. Cool slightly
while making the caramel.

CARAMEL

Melt butter or margarine in a small saucepan, stir in golden syrup and
the condensed milk. Bring to the boil and pour over the base, return
to the oven and cook for a further 12 minutes or until caramel is
firm. Ice while still warm.

ICING

Sift icing sugar and drinking chocolate into a small bowl, pour in
melted Copha and mix until smooth. Spread icing over the top of slice
and chill in the refrigerator until firm.

Cut into squares.