Gluten Free Caramel Slice

I’ve been through a few stages where I’ve needed gluten free recipes and been at a loss of what to make. Hopefully this recipe can come at the right time for you. It’s got all the goodness of a regular caramel slice, and I don’t think the gluten free aspect makes it loose any of its caramel-y charm.

I’ve found I like the caramel baked fairly lightly, but there is a fine line to know when it’s done. If you underbake your caramel it will still be tasty, I can guarantee that, but it won’t stay together quite so neatly in slices, it’ll be a slightly more oozy messy situation. So, if you’re like me and light a lighter caramel here are a few tips to know when it’s done in the oven:

1. Look for a skin on top of your caramel - it will have lost that shiny look from when you first poured it on top of your base and will be a bit more matte

2. Give the pan a gentle wobble. It will jiggle a little but overall the caramel will look like it moves as one, like jelly (there won’t be waves of caramel)

3. The colour of the top will be slightly darker than before, and there will be some very small bubbles happening around the edges of the pan.

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Ingredients

Yield: 20 x 20 slice tin

Time: Prep and Baking: 1hour, Cooling time 2 hours

BASE

• 1tsp Baking powder

• 1 3/4 cups Gluten free flour

• 1/2 cup Dessicated coconut

• 3/4 cup Brown sugar

• 150g Butter, melted

CARAMEL LAYER

• 1 x 395g tin Condensed milk

• 80g Butter

• 2 Tbsp Golden Syrup

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

• 200g Chocolate

• 2 Tbsp Coconut oil

• Thread coconut for decoration (optional)

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Method

Base

1. Mix Baking powder, gluten free flour, desiccated coconut and brown sugar in a bowl.

2. Add melted butter and mix to combine.

3. Press mixture into a lined tray, making sure to get to the edges.

4. Bake for 6-10mins until starting to gently turn golden. We will be cooking further with the caramel so this won’t be fully coked yet. While the base is baking, make the caramel layer.

Caramel

1. Combine condensed milk, butter and golden syrup in a saucepan.

2. Place on low heat and bring to a gentle simmer white constantly stirring. The aim is to ensure everything is dissolved and is a smooth caramel.

3. Pour on top of the warm baked base and return to the oven for 15-20 mins until the top looks like it has a skin formed on top. The level you cook your caramel to here is slightly up to you but bear in mind the longer you cook, the harder your base will also get. If you gently wobble the pan it is okay for the caramel to have a slight jiggle a bit like jelly, but is shouldn’t run to one side and the top layer should stay intact.

4. Let cool at room temperature in the baking tin before applying chocolate topping.

Chocolate topping

1. Fill a small saucepan with 1-2cm of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Select a heatproof bowl that will sit on top of the saucepan without touching the water

2. Place the chocolate and coconut oil in your selected heatproof bowl and place it over the saucepan. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together.

3. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the caramel layer (while still in the slice tin. Spread out evenly with a spatula or palette knife.

4. When the chocolate looks like it is just starting to lose its shine, sprinkle over coconut.

5. Let cool completely, then slice with a sharp knife. Tip: wipe your knife clean between each cut to have crisp edges on your slices.