Mini Caramel Slice Cups

My weekend was very busy with the Morning Tea for the helpers at the school Working Bee on Saturday

I got to 7 trays then realised I'd totally forgotten to cut the Hedgehog Slice

So madly cut it and set it out and got it there on time.

Then, it was time to turn my attention to getting everything ready for a much smaller cupcake Morning Tea for the staff at my girlfriends work.

So, as a result there was no time to experiment in the kitchen until today.  But I was getting sick of cupcakes and wanted to do something fun.  I'd also been promising a few friends I would take photos of my super tiny caramel slice cups while I made them, so, I now had a plan for Monday...small and cute.

Small stuff is cute.  Teeny tiny stuff is cuter though.  I mean, look at those dogs you could fit in the palm of your hand.  Its probably inhumane to breed them as they are probably genetically inferior and prone to horrible complications, but they are just so cute you wish you could keep one in your handbag, even if its hips are cracking every time you pick it up *sigh*.  I love small stuff though, I love people of small stature (Primordial Dwarfism documentaries are my ultra favourite) and although its twice the work for half the size of the treat in this recipe, they are so cute they are perfect.

I got the idea after making the most delicious Caramel Slice in my 26cm Springform Square.  It was perfect, every layer looked wonderfully gelled to the next, and it looked uniform.  Then, I cut the bastard.  Its so damn fiddly because if you don't have the right weight of the knife, the slice at a certain temperature and use the right amount of pressure, you get cracks in your chocolate, and 'mushing' of the layers.  Then, I remembered these little silicone mini muffin cup things I'd picked up at a cheap shop.

 

I think they are for making little chocolates, but,  I picked them up thinking 'I'll use them one day for something' and, a little while ago that day finally arrived.  I was going to make a Caramel Slice fit for a Primordial Dwarf.

A note about the silicone cups, most cheap shops have them in their baking sections, usually around the $2.50 - $3 mark for a  6-12 pack, don't buy them at Coles or Baking supply shops, they charge like wounded bulls for them.  The good thing is, they are a re-usable, once off investment, not like patty liners, and you don't even need to grease these, so, more penny pinching right there!

The Recipe

Caramel Slice Mini Cups - makes 24
Ingredient Cost - $3.20 (approx)

Ingredients
Shortbread Base
55g Butter
85g Plain Flour
25g Caster Sugar
Caramel Filling
90g Butter
60g White Sugar
1 & 1/2 Tablespoons Golden Syrup
1/2 tin Sweetened Condensed Milk
200g Chocolate - Final layer

If you don't have any Sweetened Condensed Milk handy, you can  use this recipe for homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk instead, quantity is equivalent to 1 tin you buy in the store.

Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Cup Milk Powder
2/3 Cup White Sugar
3 Tablespoons Butter
1/3 Cup Boiling Water

Using an electric mixer, blend all ingredients together until nice and smooth.  Mixture will thicken on standing.

Back to the Caramel Slice Cups.

First, we'll make the shortbread base.  Place the softened butter (room temperature is fine), sugar and flour together in a food processor and pulse.

Until you end up with a nice soft dough like mixture

Next, place your mini cups on a baking tray, leaving a few centimetres between each (they don't spread, just give yourself space, it can get fiddly).


Take a small amount of the shortbread mixture and begin to press it into the bottom of the cup.


Use one hand to hold the sides, working in a downward fashion with your fingertip, moulding to the shape of the cup


If you look on an angle at your cup (making sure you have a light on somewhere in the room of course) you will see a small layer has been formed.  Once you have a level of shortbread base you are happy with, move on to the next cup and repeat.

Bake in a preheated oven set to around 150 for fan forced and 170 for electric for around 15 minutes.

They will be browned just slightly when they are done and feel slightly firm to the touch.  Set aside to cool on the bench.

Interruption time - a knock on the door and a parcel to sign for - YIPPEE!!

Which meant old faithful (i.e Starwipe and Homer) might finally get a rest.

Not retiring, just getting a rest, while I play with my newest toys

A Wilton 56 nozzle set, plus some new featherweight piping bags to play around with. And some fondant letter cutters, so I can attempt some 'message' cup cakes.

Worst time ever for an interruption, but I deadset nearly clawed the poor postie for this parcel.  I thought it would be here Friday, so I had an unbearable weekend of waiting until Monday, when I could finally get my hands on it.  But, no opening anything and experimenting.  I had to show restraint and not get carried away so at this point I made myself return to cooking.


Next, the Caramel (but my mind is still on what I'm going to play with first out of my parcel).

In a medium sized saucepan over low heat, combine the golden syrup, sugar, butter and Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Once the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved,

Turn the heat up a little.  Please make sure you continually stir this mixture, don't let it sit, and when you are ready to make the Caramel part of these, make sure you have at least 15 minutes uninterrupted to do it.  Its not hard, you just can't stop once you start, lol.

Ok, so we've turned up the heat

And we want to bring it to a gentle boil, still stirring of course.

Start the clock.  We want to keep it boiling on the stove like this for around 6 minutes if you're cookin' with Gas, or, 8 if you've got a cruddy temperamental electric one that takes a while to kick up the gears.  In any case, the mixture will darken, thicken, and generally smell really goooood.

Turn off the heat, keep stirring for a few moments and then grab two teaspoons and start pouring carefully into your little cups.

One teaspoon is about the amount you need, but, go gently but don't work too slowly.  The cooler this mixture gets, the harder it will become and the tougher you'll find it to work with.

Next melt your chocolate, about 50-100g at a time.

I melt mine in the microwave on reduced power, I just used trusty Home Brand Milk Chocolate Melts as they are actually really nice tasting chocolate and work pretty well in this recipe.


Anyway, using a teaspoon, spread a small amount of chocolate around on the top of each cup.  You can opt for holding the cups, or, doing them on the tray.   

Personal preference is for the latter, but go for whatever works best for you.  I find using a technique where I swirl the teaspoon around, ensuring the chocolate is spread right to the edges on each cup, gives me the best results.

A side view below where you can almost see the completed 'layers'

Pop them in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.  You want them to really harden up before attempting to remove them.  Peel them out cold, straight from the fridge, otherwise the caramel will begin to stick to the silicone, ruining your efforts.

To remove them from the silicone liners, simply start with an edge, and pull away.

Then place to one side and keep going

I'm happy enough with these, but, next time I am going to melt the chocolate a little longer.  I want it runnier than I had it, as the excessive amount of teaspoon activity has caused those ordinary looking divets in quite a few.  My last batch were much, much more uniform looking on the top, as you can see from this photo

And the only thing different this time is that I rushed the chocolate melting stage.  Also, I melted in big batches.  Not a good idea as the chocolate will cool quicker than you can use it all and I'm the stubborn type who refuses to stop, melt the chocolate some more and then keep going, no, no, I'll continue to use the chocolate well past the point I know I should, and then kick myself when the big 'reveal' comes.

They'll all still get eaten though.  So not a problem there, they are very tasty, perfect for a fancy treat with a coffee.  They don't need to be kept in the fridge, but, store them there until the day you want to use them, they'll keep for weeks that way!!