Chocolate Caramel Shortbread

I have been incredibly lazy lately; between work and catching up with my long dormant social life, I've had little time to photograph my kitchen adventures. What photographs I do take end up shoddy and are mostly hastily snapped on my iPhone.

My work front has been incredibly rewarding recently, what with a successful project closed off with great results. I think that was just the pick-me-up project I needed to get back into the swing of things in the firm. It was also personally rewarding, as it was a scope so close to my heart. Despite the difficulty I faced in trying to remain objective and not give into my stupid compassionate self, I found that it was the perfect experience to grow up professionally and also as a person.

I've also taken some measures to start acting my age. Attending house parties, went on a really fun pub crawl with really good friends, started actually leaving the house to socialise on a Sunday afternoon, etc. It's a lot of fun just cutting loose and having fun with my friends again, though I am paying the price in not having time to bake and photograph.

Though after close to three weeks of silence on the blog, I figured I'll risk the bad photos and just post one of my favourite new recipes: homemade Twix bars, or rather just chocolate caramel shortbread.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread
Adapted from HungryCravings

Shortbread:

• 340g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 425g all purpose flour
• 90g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Caramel:

• 1 14oz tin of Carnation skim condensed milk

Chocolate:

• 170g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped finely
• 90g unsalted butter

Shortbread crust:
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a 9x9 inch baking tin
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment on low for roughly 5 minutes
Dump the dough into the prepared tin and press firmly into an even layer, then poke holes with a fork, and bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden
Allow to cool to room temperature

Caramel layer:
Pop the tin into a large saucepan of water, making sure to cover the top. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Allow the tin to cool to room temperature before opening, and even then be careful when doing so as it's likely to ooze out if not prepared properly. Spread the caramel over the shortbread crust and let it cool

Chocolate layer:
Place the chocolate and butter into a small bowl and heat in a microwave for 30 seconds, taking it out every now and then to stir until completely combined. Cool in the bowl for 10 minutes before pouring and spreading over the caramel layer

Cut into cubes and enjoy!

It's an incredibly easy recipe that yields such a powerful punch of sweet flavours. I've been a very bad girl and sneaking tiny bites of these bars all week. Going to have to pay for it with an extra hour in the gym, I think. That is if I ever find my way there at all.
Happy Sunday everyone, and have a great week ahead,
x Nabs