Caramel Custard Slice

Caramel Custard Slice

Inspired by: Jodie’s Nanna, this caramel came out of her hand written recipe book and www.bakingmakesthingsbetter.com for the base.

Why? Caramel is my Achilles heel!

Time Taken: 10 mins+20mins=30 mins

Number of Dirty Dishes: saucepan, tray, spoon, measuring cups, 2 medium sized bowls, wooden spoon, fork, small bowl

I used:

Base:

150g room temperature dairy free margarine

½ cup sugar

1 ½ cups gluten free flour

¼ cup cocoa or ¼ cup dairy free chocolate chips

2-4 tablespoons of rice milk

Caramel Custard:

2 cups rice milk

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tbs dairy free margarine

1 Tbs corn flour

Yolks of 3 eggs

Pinch of salt

1 tsp of Vanilla

What I did:

Preheat oven to 180C, and line a 30cm x 20cm baking tin. 

For the base: in a medium bowl cream margarine and sugar together until well mixed. 
Sift in flour and cocoa or chocolate chips (I used chocolate chips) and mix well until combined. 
If the mixture is a little dry add 2-4 Tbs of rice milk to the mix (I did not find the rice milk necessary). 
Press mixture evenly into baking tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until just firm.

For the Caramel Custard: in a medium saucepan heat rice milk on a low heat.
In a medium bowl combine corn flour, brown sugar, dairy free margarine, salt and vanilla. 
Whisk yolks together in a small separate bowl. 
Pour a little heated milk over the egg yolks and stir well. 
Add the heated milk and then the yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. 
Once combined, pour the mixture back into the medium sized saucepan and cook on a low heat, stirring until the Caramel Custard is thick. 
Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Leave base to cool before pouring Caramel Custard on top. 
Cut up and Enjoy!

Comments after eating Caramel Custard slice:

YUM! I wanted more of this. I haven’t eaten dairy filled Caramel for a long time, so I’m not sure if it tastes like real Caramel exactly, but it’s delicious!

What I would do different:

I might try adding more corn flour in the hope the caramel would solidify almost like Vanilla Slice.

Dairy Free Caramel- the bane of my baking existance

It looks good doesn't it? Chocolate Caramel Slice. . .but it is very difficult to cut.
It is the latest of my experiments trying to make dairy free caramel that is suitable for slices or pies.
I've added coconut milk, and rice milk, and boiled for various temperatures, but somehow the caramel is still too hard. I'm guessing the magic number of cooking minutes and the mixture of ingredients will be discovered, on perhaps the tenth attempt, but until then let me know if you have any secrets!
I'm desperate for them!
Happy Experimenting!
(Below is a caramel pie- another attempt, the base was made from recycled gingerbread house)

Caramel Popcorn

Caramel Popcorn (how to make popcorn on the stove top)

(Plain popcorn with icing sugar)

Inspired by: Taste.com.au

Why? I was hungry and there was nothing for me to eat. . .

I used:

½ cup unpopped corn kernels

1/4 cup vegetable oil (you can use less depending on saucepan size)

Carmel

125g dairy free margarine chopped

¾ cup white sugar

2 Tbs honey

What I did:

To cook the popcorn, pour the oil into a medium to large thick bottomed pot (if you are concerned over the amount of oil, I usually just make sure the bottom of the pot is well covered with oil). 
Heat oil on a medium heat (better lower than higher) until hot. 
To test when oil is hot enough, place one kernel of corn in the oil, when the corn spins in the oil, or the corn pops, the oil is hot enough. 
When the oil is hot enough, pour the rest of the corn kernels into the pot, and place the lid on securely, taking care to avoid oil slashes which may burn you. 
Shake the pot gently while the popcorn is popping, and remove the pot from the heat (turn off stove) once the popping stops. 
Pour popped corn into a bowl, removing any unpopped kernels.

To make the caramel, combine margarine, sugar and honey in a small saucepan. 
Stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. 
Bring mixture to the boil, and boil uncovered and without stirring for 5-8 minutes, until light golden, or until the colour turns a slightly darker shade (if your original mixture was light golden). 
Remove from heat (turn off stove) and pour over popcorn. 
Mix through popcorn until popcorn is fully coated. 
It can be left in the bowl, or poured out onto a lined tray to set.

Comments after eating Caramel Popcorn!

I really don’t know how many times I have made this recipe. It is a favourite. I love it. It’s very easy, and once you are familiar with your stove and your saucepans it is fairly foolproof. I do have trouble with burning the popcorn every once in a while when I am trying to make this in an unfamiliar cooking environment. But any reason to experiment with it again is always taken! A bit of salt and a lot of caramel goes a long way to hide slightly smokey popcorn! It's always a hit with visitors too!