Caramel Shortcake Crisp

Anna (Clive)

Ah my friend Anna, mad as a dog in a bungalow. Fiery, colourful, and covered in tattoos, she's my kind of girl. A master practitioner in the realm of 'that's what she said', Zumba teacher, and ex-burlesque dancer; there's very little that this lady can't turn her hand to. Why was I not surprised when she added baking to her repertoire?

I was having 'a morning'. You know the type, where nothing is particularly occurring, yet still you feel the need to punch someone square in the face. I was making a brew in an attempt to medicate, when in waltzed Clive (that would be Anna), who promptly thrust a golden square of joy into my hand. It was like crack. Yes, it looks good in the picture, but you cannot truly grasp how amazing this stuff is until you try it.

And there it was, I pretty much demanded on the spot that she remake it and promptly do a guest post. Luckily, this excitement was reciprocated, and here we are!

Anna's recipe

Dolly asked me to do a guest post about this ultimate sweet treat, and who am I to turn down such a request?! I made this recipe up after a friend brought home something similar and I could not bare the thought of not having it in my mouth again.

To earn some traffic to this post, I could tell you I was cooking it in my underwear (Clickbait, OH HA HA), but the truth is, it is a soggy old nursing crop top, since I was multi tasking and dyeing my hair at the same time. And cooking a roast dinner, and trying to keep the children entertained (which is a little bit like herding cats, for the non parents among you). If I suddenly call for adding conditioning treatment or honey roast parsnips to the recipe, ignore me. Multitasking obviously is not going as well as I would have hoped. 

I digress. The recipe, maestro!

Ingredients:

• 300 good quality milk chocolate (I used Green & Black’s cooking chocolate)
• 200g caster sugar
• 40g butter
• 100ml fresh double cream
• 1 ½ packets Chocolate Fingers
• 200g crispy rice cereal

Method:

• Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl over a pan of water. Heat the water until the chocolate is all melted, then turn the heat off, but leave the bowl on top to stop it from solidifying
• Cover a loaf tin in cling film. 
• Cover the base and sides with just over half of the chocolate, trying to ensure there are no gaps. Pop in the fridge to set.

• Melt the sugar in the pan, quietly cursing the previous owner of your house, who installed an induction hob. Historic attempts at melting sugar have not gone well. (Note: If you have an induction hob, keep the temperature low). Remember melted sugar reaches a temperature nearer the surface of the sun than anything else on Earth, so do not attempt to taste it, or hold your hand under the spoon to stop drips.
• When the sugar is completely melted and starting to caramelise, add the butter. WARNING: it will snap, crackle and pop more than the crispies, so keep the butter close to the pan as you add it. 
• When the butter is completely stirred in, add the cream. Cook for a few minutes, until a drop of the mixture in a glass of cold water forms a ball instantly. 
• Add the rice crispies to the caramel, and stir, stir, stir. 
• Put 1/3 of the mixture on top of the now set chocolate, and flatten. 
• Add 4 long lines of chocolate fingers (my loaf tin fits 3 ½ fingers per line). 
• Layer another 1/3 of the crispies on top, ensuring they are well spread (that’s what she said). 
• Repeat the 4 long lines of fingers (I used approximately 1 ½ packets. This of course depends on the placement of your fingers). Add the last 1/3 of the crispie mixture, and then cover in the remaining melted chocolate, fully covering the crispies, and joining up with the chocolate on the sides. 
• Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or until completely set. 

• Put the loaf of happiness on a cutting board and remove the cling film. 
• Cut it down the middle lengthwise, and then cut each half into 16 pieces (I also cut the corners off, but let’s be honest here, that was just an excuse to scoff). 
• Put the little squares into a tin, and keep in the fridge. 

Serve with Hasselback potatoes, a selection of green veg, and gravy (NO WAIT, that was the roast dinner. Just eat them. As they are. At least 4 at the time).

No on has been able to answer how long they would actually last in the fridge, each time I have made them they have been gone within 36 hours.

A massive thank you to Anna for sharing her fantastic creation! 

Apple and Cinnamon Slice

Yes, it's not a bundt. I know, it doesn't happen often. The other day I went to our local butty shop for a post-Dublin sausage on toast style remedy. She makes all her own biscuits, cakes and brownies, and I found myself unable to resist the apple cake. It was lovely, but when you're a baker, you constantly find yourself thinking how you would have done it differently. We all have our little preferences I suppose!

The cake I had was very soft and the apple wasn't in definable chunks, so I'm presuming it was grated. I was craving a sugar crust, large pieces of fruit, plump sultanas and lots of cinnamon. I remembered a recipe I'd written down in my recipe file years ago (unsure of source), which I knew I could adapt into the perfect bake. 

The different types of sugar give this cake real depth of flavour, as does the warmth of the cinnamon. You can put the sultanas in dry (or even leave them out), but I find that plumping them up in apple juice sky rockets this cake from something good to a very special bake indeed. It's not the prettiest cake in the world, but it tastes bloody cracking. Show me what you got Autumn.

Ingredients:

• 150g sultanas
• Apple juice (enough to cover the sultanas - about 300ml)
• 225g unsalted butter - softened
• 150g dark muscovado sugar
• 150g soft brown sugar
• 4 medium eggs - beaten
• 350g self raising flour
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 sweet apples like Gala or Pink Lady
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar to sprinkle 

You'll also need some disposable foil baking trays (available online or from Asda)

Method:

1. Cover the sultanas in the apple juice and pop in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring after a minute. Set aside and cover with cling film.
2. Beat the soft brown and muscovado sugars into the butter until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs slowly.
4. Mix the flour, cinnamon and baking powder into a separate bowl. 
5. Fold in to the butter mix in two stages.
6. Drain the sultanas and fold into the mix.
7. Pour half the mix into the tin.
8. Cut up one of the apples into crescent shapes (see pic) and layer on top.
9. Add the rest of the cake mix and repeat with the other apple.
10. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
11. Bake in the middle of the oven for around 45 mins to 1 hr on gas 4/180 C.
12. Note: the disposable trays are a sniff too small. This is ok... it's your friend. You'll get that nice crust I discussed. If it's catching too quickly round the edges after 45 mins, cover with foil with a hole in the middle. This allows the middle of the cake to bake through. 

Back to School... Aussie Crunch

You will fall into one of two camps here; those who have knowledge of the crunch, and those who do not. I’m fairly confident that if you have heard of it, you live in the Bolton area. If you haven’t, that’s not a problem. Follow these simple instructions to create a tasty treat!

For me, Aussie Crunch is all about the nostalgia. It brings back memories of roller skating at Horwich Leisure Centre, greasy paper backed cellophane bags, and nattering with my friends in the playground at high school. I spent ages looking for a recipe that captured how I remembered it. I’ve spent a while perfecting the measurements in this one, and dare I say it… it’s better than the original, which when done badly was so hard it could break teeth.

I recently heard it was banned from being cut into triangles at Rivington and Blackrod High School because it was deemed to be too 'weapon-like' - not a good example of what was a fine bake in the 1990s! No such danger with this version.

Ingredients:

• 200g Stork (you can use butter, but Stork gives it that authentic taste) 
• 140g golden caster sugar (it's way better than standard caster sugar)
• 85g desiccated coconut 
• 75g cornflakes (crushed up)
• 1 heaped tbsp good cocoa powder (like Green & Black's)
• 140g self raising flour 
• 250g of Cadbury’s chocolate

Method:

1. Melt the Stork in the microwave 
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl 
3. Pour in the Stork and mix until well combined 
4. Pour into a Swiss roll tin (I use disposable tray bake trays from Asda) 
5. Squash it down with the back of a spoon - make sure you push it into all the corners! 
6. Bake at 180c/gas 4 for 35 minutes. 
7. Allow to cool. 
8. When cool, melt the chocolate over a bain-marie (or gently in the microwave if you must...) and pour over the Crunch. Level off with a spatula and pop in the fridge to set. 

Take out of the fridge about 30 mins before eating (so it’s easier to cut) and cut into slabs!

This is best served with a brew, but I assure you it works equally well whilst roller skating or freezing to death in a playground…

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