Double yuummmm!
What could be more enticing after a big man meat pie than some super sweet sticky caramel slice? Upside down caramel slice of course! I always get annoyed at the chocolate on top of the caramel slice, but that is mostly because when you bite down the chocolate smooshes the caramel out and all over your hands or the plate if you are the more civilized kind…
Anywho, so i was thinking the other day just how to combat that and i came up with the idea for an upside down caramel slice, you know make the bottom chocolate and the top more biscuit like… So, how-do-you-do-that? I decided that chocolate pastry was the way to go, with a macadamia nut crumble on top of the caramel… I wondered it it would work, i wondered it it may be ‘too’ biscuity… But, would you believe that it worked, and i actually liked it better than the old style… Why? Simply because the pastry and crumble dulled down the sweetness of the caramel.
Upside Down Caramel Slice
Stuff you’ll need
Chocolate Pastry
- 250 grams of chilled cubed butter
- 2 cups plain flour
- 2/3 cup icing sugar
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup coco powder
- 2 egg yolks
Caramel
- 1 tin of condenced milk
- 3 tablespoons golden syrup
- 30 grams butter
Crumble Topping
- 200 grams macadamia nuts – some chopped some left whole
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 30 grams chilled cubed butter
How i did it
Firstly this is not a ‘quick’ slice to make, so ensure that you have pleanty of time up your sleeve before you go jumping on into it 
Measure all the dry ingredient of the pastry into a large bowl, using the tips of your fingers or a pastry knife, work the butter into the flour until it resembles bread crumbs – now with pastry they say not to over work it, keep the butter cold – do that – i am not very good at it and it still tasted alright, but do make sure you dont overwork it… You could also use a blender and pulse 
the mixture – that would work, but i dont have a blender 
(hint hint, nudge nudge anyone?!) Once the butter is evenly mixed in, add the egg yolks and bring together to form a dough – again making sure you do not over work it. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in cling wrap, and place in the fridge for 30-40 minutes – go watch some tv, play with your baby… Chat to your husband…. etc etc etc
Grab your baking tin, i used a 20cm x 30cm size, cut a piece of baking paper that will fit in the tin,grease it and place the baking paper on the counter with the tin sitting behind it for size reference, also ensure your oven is on about 180 deg.
Get the pastry from the fridge and a rolling pin. Flour your pin, unwrap the pastry and place onto the baking paper, roll the pastry out, 
keeping it on the baking paper so that when you place it in the tin it will fit. Once the dough fits nicely on the baking paper – it should be about 3-4mm thick at this point – grab the edges of the paper and carefully place the dough into the baking tin. Place the tin and dough into the fridge for a further 20 minutes to chill back down.
While the dough is chilling, in a large bowl place the macadamia nuts, flour, brown sugar and rub the cubed butter into the dry ingredient making a crumble topping.
Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and cover with a sheet a baking paper, on the baking paper crumble the macadamia mixture… Basically we are using the crumble mix to blind bake the pastry – if that makes sense?
Place in the oven for around 20 minutes, check in on 10 and make sure the crumble and the pastry is not burning, in my oven i have to turn things, so it was at this point that i turned the tin around. After 20 minutes remove the crumbles from the top of the psatry and place on a separate shelf in the oven, you may have to turn some of the crumble bits and nuts upside down to ensure they get cooked through. Keep in the oven for a further 5 minutes.
Once both the crumble and pastry are golden brown and not burned, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While cooling, you can make the caramel… But remember caramel needs 100% of your attention for about 1/2 an hour – so make sure you have no distractions in place or the caramel WILL BURN!
Place all the caramel ingredient into a saucepan on LOW heat and stir, stir until your arm feels like it is going to fall off, stir, stir, stir stir stir some more, and keep stirring … 
UNTIL the caramel darkens and coats the back of a spoon when cooled. 
Now if you have never made caramel before (which if you havent – YOU ARE INSANE!) dont go sticking your fingers in it, or thinking that you can just taste a little on your tongue… You cant, cause its hot – so super hot that you will burn your tongue, and the roof of your mouth… Trust me, cause ive done it, and it hurt, A LOT!
Right now, your pastry is ready and cooled, your caramel hot and ready, and the crumble cooled – time to put it all together
Pour the caramel into the pastry shell, then crumble the macadamia crumble over the top… 
Then place in the fridge for a couple of hours to set… NO EATING UNTIL IT IS SET! Other wise you will have runny caramel everywhere! (i know, cause ive done it before LOL)
Once the caramel is set, cut into pieces, and enjoy… No really, enjoy, cause this one is so super nummy that this will happen….
On NUMEROUS occasions…. (& you will have to go to the gym… On NUMEROUS occasions, just to work it off!)
