Chocolate, Hazelnut & Espresso Caramel Slice – rich chocolate shortbread topped with gooey espresso caramel & finished with a layer of dark chocolate. Jump to Recipe
Last night was my first back in the emergency department for the semester – and the hectic environment that I had largely forgotten came rushing right back. It was a busy Monday evening following an even busier weekend: the doctors and nurses were completely overstretched, there weren’t enough beds, and out in the waiting room, people were sitting on the floor as the line stretched out into the night. The hospital where I’m placed is small, almost rural, even – yet services an area with a rapidly growing urban population. We don’t have the resources to have an intensive care or surgeons on standby, so any major trauma or severe emergency gets rushed directly to larger tertiary centres. However, there are still many, many very sick people that need time and care.
It’s frustrating and stressful for the doctors and nurses to be trying to provide the best care possible from the triage bay or the fast track chairs because there are no beds to spare. It’s chaotic, and situations can deteriorate quickly – the doctor I was with had to juggle a child in severe respiratory distress alongside a number of other patients that also needed attention. It makes it even more challenging when there are also many not-so-sick people that should really take panadol and visit the 24 hour superclinic down the road, or their GP in the morning – but in Australia, unlike the UK, nobody can be turned away from emergency. Communication becomes difficult, with exhausted, slightly cynical doctors and distressed patients aggravated at having to wait hours for care. The current situation seems unsustainable – but I don’t know the answer to it. It’s impossible to reduce patient numbers, but to build a larger emergency department is hardly an instantaneous process. In the meantime, hospital staff try to be as organised and efficient as possible, prioritizing based on level of urgency is key, and I’ll be there as a student to listen and help in any way possible – and try not to get in the way.
Even if the only way I can help is bringing in a decadent slice like this – it could make almost anyone feel better.
It’s a chocolate, hazelnut & espresso caramel slice. The humble caramel slice is a New Zealand and Australian classic, usually made up of a simple shortbread base, often with added desiccated coconut, condensed milk caramel topping, and a thin layer of chocolate to finish it off. A favourite of most cafe and bakery cabinets, you’d find it at birthday parties, in kids lunch boxes, and on the back of sweetened condensed milk tins. This version is even more indulgent – and a little more grown-up – than the original. A deep, dark chocolate shortbread base is topped with a rich espresso caramel, studded with the nutty crunch of roast hazelnuts. Sea salt adorns the intense dark chocolate topping, which along with the hint of bitter espresso, serves to balance the sweetness of the caramel. It’s a worthy indulgence – all or nothing, right?
You do need golden syrup for that caramel layer – it’s easily found in supermarkets over here, but other parts of the world might require a little more searching. It’s like a light treacle, but using maple syrup, molasses or corn syrup would give a completely different flavour.
- 175 g unsalted butter , softened
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence or paste
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 x 400g tins sweetened condensed milk`
- 200 ml golden syrup
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 2-3 teaspoons (to taste) instant coffee
- 3/4 cup whole roasted hazelnuts (roast hazelnuts for 5-10 minutes in oven until fragrant. Don’t worry about peeling the skins off).
- 200 g dark chocolate (at least 70%), roughly chopped (I used Whittaker’s dark chocolate).
- 20 g butter
- coarsely ground sea salt
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Preheat the oven to 150°C.
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Grease and line a 20x30 cm baking tin.
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Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Sift over the cocoa, flour and salt and mix until just combined.
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Press evenly and firmly into the base of the baking tin. Bake for 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, make the caramel. Combine the sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup, and butter in a medium-sized pot over low heat until melted and fully combined. Add the instant coffee to taste. Stir in the hazelnuts.
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When the base is out of the oven, pour over the caramel layer and spread right to the edges. Return to the oven for anther 15 minutes or until set when you touch the surface.
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For the topping, place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir until just melted.
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Pour over the caramel layer, spreading right to the edges and smoothing the surface. Place in the fridge to set for 2-3 hours.
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Once chocolate is set, slice up using a sharp knife dipped in very hot water (to prevent cracks in the chocolate layer). Sprinkle a bit of coarsely ground sea salt over the surface of the chocolate.
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Keep in the fridge for up to a week (but it will probably be all gone by then!).
this sounds amazing! wasn’t quite sure what the base was at first, but i’ll take shortbread any day. plus, love the caramel shortcut you used! caramel still can be a pain in the butt sometimes, and this way, no need to worry about crystallization or making sure it’s perfectly dark golden.
kind of like shortbread, kinda like super rich chocolate cookie, kinda fudgy in the middle. It’s good, whatever it is!
Is there any way I can replace the egg in this recipe? As shortbread doesn’t usually contain egg and I have an a allergy to them.
Maybe I could make a normal shortbread cookie and add cocoa powder to it?
You could definitely give that a try – replace some of the flour in your usual recipe with cocoa, or use a recipe like this one. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1272633/double-chocolate-shortbreads
Would love to know how it goes!
Claudia you and I seem to be on parallel wave lengths at the moment haha. I made an espresso caramel slice this week too. Although your photos are waaaaay better than mine haha. I was down at Nepean ED last night – 89 people waiting for beds You are so right – the system is not sustainable in its current form.And unfortunately its the nurses and doctors who bear the brunt of everything. And I hear more proposed budget cuts are on the way down. oh joy.
Espresso caramel slice – great minds think alike haha! I know, it seems like some pretty major changes need to take place but nothing is happening at the moment, or even in the works. Hope you are having a good week!
This looks absolutely amazing!!! I love love love this flavor combination and I will definitely have to be trying this out soon!
Thanks so much Anne! xx
I feel as though I need to stop everything and make this immediately. I love this reinvention of such a classic! Leave my lamingtons and anzac biscuits well alone but THIS LOOKS BONKERS GOOD
hahah would love to know what you think! it’s incredibly decadent but the kind of thing I just can’t stop eating. That reminds me – I’ve been wanting to make lamingtons for ages!
I cant even imagine what its like to be in the ER room! Confronting I can imagine! Meanwhile this caramel slice is NEXT LEVEL! Just love all that gooey goodness. Pinned!
Confronting at times, but so fast paced that you don’t really think about it until after! Thanks Jess x
Oh my goodness Claudia, these look insanely delicious! That espresso caramel has me drooling! Getting these on the menu at our house very soon! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Mary Ann, would love to know what you think if you give them a go!
These look seriously amazing. Really love all the flavour combinations, and gorgeous photos!
Thanks Rosie!
I have the utmost respect for all the nurses and doctors and what they do. It isn’t an easy job. I am sure a decadent and flavorful treat like this is a welcome treat after the a long shift and is very appreciated!
Exactly – sweet treats, especially homemade, are always ver welcome! Thanks Amanda x
If I had to wait for hours in the emergency room, this would definitely lift my spirits and make me feel better! These photos are so incredible and I’m in love with the flavor combo in these bars!
Thanks Sarah – I wish I could hand them out!
So happy to have landed on your blog. It is absolutely stunning. The dessert fiend that I am, can’t stop reading your dessert posts. Great work.
Thanks so much Jenny! That is so lovely to hear, especially from another dessert lover.
Wow Claudia! This looks incredible! However do you find the time with such a busy schedule? I am dying to try these !! Beautiful.
Thanks Jackie! I don’t know sometimes – a lot of baking and planning blog posts ahead of time haha! Would love to know what you think of them. x
chocolate-caramel is my favorite combo. I made a tart with this combination recently but your bars look more delicious. Besides they are easy to pack in your purse 😉
Thanks Violeta! Chocolate caramel tart is on my list to make at the moment – I’m sure yours was amazing! x
These look incredible!!
Thanks Sabrina!
Beautiful blog! And this recipe looks amazing! 🙂
Thanks Asima!
Hello! Beautiful blog – congrats on the Saveur award. 🙂
I instantly fell in love with this recipe, and the beautiful pictures of it…however, when I made them last night, I was disappointed with the results, and I wondered if you could help me figure out where I went wrong. I made the shortbread layer as written, then added the caramel layer and baked until it was set. That ended up taking almost a half an hour instead of the 15 minutes suggested, and then after the bars were completely cooled, the layers weren’t beautifully distinct like yours are in the photos! Alas, somehow the caramel had actually sunk to the bottom, and the chocolate base was somewhere in the middle, but not the texture of it had become kind of mushy…what in the world did I do wrong? Thank you for your time, and for your beautiful work!
Best~ Heather
Hi Heather! So sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you. Although I’m not exactly sure what might have gone wrong for you, I have made it many times now over the years, and others have made it with success recently, so here a few things that might have been the problem 🙂
– Measurements and tin size – making sure the measurements are all accurate and the tin size is the full 20 x 30 cm is really important.
– After you cooked the shortbread, was that like a soft biscuit? If it was too runny or not cooked through that might have been an issue.
– The caramel layer – when I say ‘set’, it really means that when you touch the surface it is no longer sticky, more tacky and a little wobbly – like a hot version of set jello. Having it in the oven for half an hour would probably way surpass this stage, so that might be the reason for the layers merging together.
– Did you use golden syrup?
Again, I’m sorry it didn’t work for you! Let me know if you have any other questions or if I can help in any other way 🙂
Claudia x
Thanks for your reply! I did use golden syrup (thank you for giving me a reason to try it – I discovered I absolutely looove golden syrup because of this recipe! 😊), but I think I probably didn’t bake the shortbread later enough, and the caramel layer too long. I will try it again and use your input. Thanks again!