Homemade Caramel Slice

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I know many people who won't even consider trying a recipe if it has more than ten steps, or if some of the ingredients sound a little bit too foreign. I know others who avoid recipes if they think that it would be easier to simply buy the end product already made. Although it can sometimes be easier to take this approach, I think the challenge of making something from scratch can sometimes make a recipe a lot more appealing.

Such is the case with caramel slices.


Although it can sometimes be difficult to make, especially with the layering of different ingredients, the end result is well worth it. Even if it doesn't look as smooth-edged and neat as a bakery-produced caramel slice, you can still say with pride that you made it from scratch. Who cares if the chocolate topping is jagged and the base is crumbly? As long as it tastes good, the aesthetics aren't that important. This recipe produces a sweet homemade caramel slice which tastes just as good as the ones you can buy in the shops.


For the base, you'll need:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
125g butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
A pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC.

2. Find a large and fairly deep cake tin (it can be rectangular or square-shaped) and line it with baking paper, leaving a length of the paper hanging over two of the sides. This will make it easier to remove the slice from the tin once it is cooked. Lightly grease the tin and paper, so that the caramel mixture doesn't stick. Put the tin aside.

3. Melt the butter in a separate bowl and leave it to cool.

4. Put the brown sugar, self-raising flour and desiccated coconut into a large mixing bowl.

5. Add the melted butter, egg (lightly beaten), vanilla essence and salt to the mixing bowl and stir until it is all combined. It should resemble a crumbly mixture.

6. Place the mixture into the cake tin and flatten it out, using the back of a spoon. Press the mixture into each corner of the tin so that you have a nice regular shape, and make sure the base is even otherwise you'll end up with a lopsided-looking slice.

7. Put the cake tin in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

While the base is cooking, you'll have to make the caramel filling. This part of the recipe is quite rich, and overly sweet, so I only make a thin layer of caramel. If you want your slice to resemble those that you find in stores, with a thick layer of caramel, then simply double the quantities of the filling ingredients listed below.

For the filling, you'll need:

395g can of condensed milk
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 tablespoon of butter

8. Put all of the filling ingredients into a saucepan, and place on medium heat.

9. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture has a smooth consistency.

10. Pour the caramel mixture over the base, which should now have finished baking. Make sure that the caramel is spread evenly.

11. Reduce the oven temperature to 150ºC, and place the tin in the oven. Bake for a further 20 minutes.

Once you have removed the slice from the oven and allowed it to cool, you can start melting the dark chocolate that coats the top of the slice.

12. Take a bag of dark chocolate melts (a 375g bag will do if you want a nice thick layer) and pour into a heatproof bowl. I use the microwave to melt chocolate because it's faster, although you can heat the chocolate over the stove if you'd prefer.

13. Once the chocolate is melted, pour it over the slice, making sure it is evenly distributed.

14. Place the cake tin in the fridge and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes.

15. Once the chocolate has set, take it out of the fridge and cut it into squares to serve.


This recipe makes about 18 pieces, although this varies depending on the sizes of the slice you want. You also have to be careful when cutting, in case the chocolate cracks- trust me, cutting the pieces and preventing cracks is harder than it looks! But whatever the case, you'll end up with a tasty caramel slice that will become a firm family favourite.

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