my complicated life

this recipe was taken from my little 200 Chocolate Recipes book. i don't have a kitchen weighing scale yet (sponsor, anyone? hehe), so i just used an ordinary measuring cup with an ounce graduation instead. nonetheless, it turned out really good. :) i'll be posting the original recipe below while i add notes after that to document what actually transpired in my kitchen. happy baking! :)

ingredients for the base:
200 g (7 oz) plain flour
50 g (2 oz) cocoa powder
75 g (3 oz) golden caster sugar
175 g (6 oz) butter

for the caramel:
750 g (1 1/2 lb) condensed milk
100 g (3 1/2 oz) light muscovado sugar
100 g (3 1/2 oz) butter

for the top layer:
200 g (7 oz) white chocolate

directions:
1. blend the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and butter in a food processor until the mixture forms crumbs, then pulse a little more until it forms a ball. turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and well combined.
2. grease and line a 30 x 20 cm (12 x 8 inch) roll tin. press the mixture into the tin and bake in a pre-heated oven, 180 deg C (350 deg F), for 20 minutes until firm to the touch. set aside when done (this is the chocolate shortbread mixture).
3. heat the condensed milk, sugar and butter in a nonstick pan, stirring continuously, for about 15 minutes until the mixture is thick and fudgy. pour on top of the chocolate shortbread, smooth over and cool.
4. melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and pour it over the caramel. leave to set at room temperature, then cut into 20 squares.

notes:
1. of course, cream the sugar and butter first! i used an ordinary sugar because i don't have a caster sugar at hand. no problem was encountered. i wonder if the caster sugar will make the shortbread less sweet??? i didn't do the kneading part, btw. tinamad ako eh. haha. that could be the reason why the texture is not so smooth when it was cooked. pero carry na rin, nasa ilalim naman siya eh. haha.
2. i've read somewhere that shortbreads were meant to be cooked slowly. so, i reduced the oven temp a little bit and just increased the timing. hmm.. i used 150 deg C but i couldn't be specific with the duration because i just check the bread every now and then. so far, my method worked! :) since it's chocolatey, there's a big tendency for it to have burnt sides which i was able to avoid because of the slow cooking. also, don't panic when the supposed dough didn't rise up. it will not. :) yun nga daw ang reason why it's called shortbread. short siya sa height. ngahahaha.
3. as always, i don't measure. haha. so, for the caramel i used the tantiyahan method. =) ayoko na kasing mag-compute what's the equivalent of 1 1/2 lb into oz. :D and since i don't want to have a left-over caramel, i just guesstimate this part.. caramel, sugar and butter. hehe. so far, with about half a cup of condensed milk, 1/4 cup sugar and around 100g of butter, i was able to make a 1/4 inch of caramel layer. not bad... ;) making this caramel reminds me of the brazo de mercedes recipe.
4. this is the part that i liked most. hihi. i melted the white chocolate but i put around 1/4 teaspoon of butter. i've read somewhere too, that melted chocolate with a bit of oil/butter, will be more shiny when it cooled down. so it was! finally, before this layer cooled down completely, i sprinkled some colored sugar decorations on top to entice even those who swore to stay away from sweets. lol.

verdict:
the final result was fab! i was hesitant to make this because of the amount of sugar involved. iniisip ko palang, parang hihimatayin na ako dahil sa diabetes. hahaha. however, with my intention to bake something without using eggs, the ingredients were perfect. in additon, this recipe uses plain flour. as much as possible, i shun from recipes that uses self-raising flour. self-raising flour and me, just don't go together. hehe. anyhow, the final product was a 3-layer goody... with a base having a bittery taste complemented by the sweetness of a gooey caramel and deluctible white chocolatey top. description palang panalo na. how much more when you actually bite into it??!! lol.