Recipe: Hazelnut & chocolate salted caramel slice

This is a very decadent slice, and it makes heaps! It's probably best made when you need to feed quite a large crowd and or can take the leftovers to work for others to eat!

Ingredients:

125g butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 Cup Self raising flour

½ cup plain flour

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

120g skinned hazelnuts, chopped

200g dark chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt 70% for cooking)

2 x tins caramel top 'n' fill

½ teaspoon salt (or to your taste)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Grease & line a lamington tin.

2. Combine the melted butter and vanilla paste.

 
3. Mix together the 2 flours and brown sugar in a large bowl, breaking up any large lump of brown sugar.

4. Add the melted butter into the flour and combine well.

5. Place into the base of lamington pan, spread out using your fingers. Use a flat bottomed glass to pack down firmly.

 

6. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside and allow to cool.  

7. Mix together the chopped hazlenuts and chocolate.

8.

 

9. Spread caramel over the cooled base. Sprinkle the nuts and chocolate over the top.

 

10. Bake for 15-20 mins until the caramel is set. You will need to allow to cool and set in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before serving.

Recipe: Lemon Slice

I tend to prefer savoury things to sweet, but if I do have dessert, I usually go for something citrus over something with chocolate- something my Mum finds very hard to comprehend. This slice is a creamy lemony slice, perfect for morning or afternoon tea. It is an adaptation of this recipe, I've changed it to Australian measurements.

Ingredients:

For the base:
1 Cup plain flour
1/4 Cup caster sugar
115g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

For the filling:
125g cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 Cups Caster Sugar
1/4 Cup plain flour
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Cup lemon juice (approx 2.5 lemons, depending on how juicy they are)
4 eggs

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm square cake pan with baking paper leaving extra to come over the sides.

2. For the base: Place the flour, caster sugar and butter into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Don't work it too much or it will form a dough, you want it crumbly.

3. Press into the prepared tin. I use a flat bottomed glass to press it down flat.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until set and it turns golden around the edges. Prepare filling while it cools.

4. For the filling: In the food processor, blend cream cheese & 1/2 cup of sugar until smooth. Add remaining sugar, the flour, lemon zest and baking powder. Blend until smooth and scrape down sides of processor.

5. Add the lemon juice and eggs. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice to make sure it is all blended properly. Pour the filling over the crust.

 

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges are set and it has risen a little. The centre should still have a little bit of wobble.

 

7. Cool completely to room temperature and then chill for at least 3 hours before cutting.

Makes 16 squares or 32 small rectangles.