If you like caramel and you like chocolate, you will love this recipe. It reminds me of the hard chocolate covered toffee squares from See’s Candies. My mother in law found this and thought we should take a stab at it. Glad I did. Super yummy and quite easy. Perfect for parties!
Ingredients:
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup toasted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped plus extra for garnish (bought a half cup chopped macadamia nuts and baked on 350 for 10 minutes)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
½ cup of heavy cream plus 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, divided
¾ teaspoon of fleur de sel
3 ounces dark chocolate, melted (not chocolate chips) I used Cost Plus World Market 3 oz. Dark Chocolate with 99% cacao = very cocoa-y but delicious
½ teaspoon dark rum
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9×14 glass or metal casserole dish with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Put graham crackers, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor and blend to get fine crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a large bowl and stir in toasted macadamia nuts. Pour the melted butter over the top and mix in until the crumbs are moist, then press the dough into the bottom of the foil lined pan evenly.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until browned around the edges. Cool slightly on metal rack.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring ½ cup of heavy cream to a simmer. Keep warm.
Heat a large pot over high heat. Put in ¼ cup of granulated sugar and the corn syrup over the bottom of the hot pot in an even layer. Once the sugar begins to melt, stir in another ¼ cup of sugar with a wooden spoon. Continue to slowly add the remaining sugar this way. Once all the sugar is melted, bring it to a dark, reddish-brown color, swirling the pan and stirring to distribute the color. Remove from heat and pour in the hot cream while stirring. Be Careful, as the mixture will bubble and froth. Pour the caramel over the crust, spreading to the edge. Once slightly set, sprinkle with the fleur de sel, and cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, melt the 3 oz. bar of chocolate a little at a time in the microwave until fully melted.
In a small saucepan, bring 2 tablespoons heavy cream and the dark rum to a boil. Carefully pour the hot cream over the melted chocolate, stirring with a rubber spatula until it emulsifies and becomes smooth.
It will appear broken at first, but continue stirring and the ganache will come together.
Drizzle or use a piping bag. I put the chocolate in a plastic zip-loc and cut a small piece off the edge. Pipe the ganache over the top of the cooled caramel bar and sprinkle with additional crushed nuts and fleur de sel if desired.
Refrigerate overnight. Remove the bars from the dish and foil, cut into 1 1/2 –inch squares.
Enjoy!
Yields: 52 squares
Notes: Kosher salt or sea salt can be substituted for the fleur de sel, and vanilla extract can be substituted for the dark rum. Found fleur de sel at Williams Sonoma.
Recipe courtesy of: Sarah Balke
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