Friday, November 23, 2012

Peanut butter caramel slice

November 19, 2012


Strangely, I've got out of the habit of baking. Heaven knows I haven't lost my sweet tooth, there just seems to have been a steady supply of chocolate, a few tubs of ice-cream and the odd restaurant dessert keeping it busy through winter and spring. I've got to missing the heartiness and satisfaction of a homely dessert.

So I made one. I recreated Steph's caramel slice and I tested the tweak I've been plotting since I first blogged it - I replaced the margarine in the caramel layer with 1/2 cup of peanut butter.

As you might expect, this altered its consistency. The caramel rapidly thickened and I had to cut its simmer short as it began sticking to the saucepan and flicking up in dark brown blobs. In the oven it browned and set like a cheap, cheesy pizza. (I spent the rest of the night craving melted mozzarella, which seemed cruel given the effort I'd gone to to make dessert.) Unexpectedly, the base was different too. This time it was all crunchy caramelised coconut after just 15 minutes in the oven.

Perhaps it's just a sign that I need to replicate this slice further to understand its processes and variability. I think the caramel could take a stronger peanut butter flavour, but I'm unsure whether the caramel's texture will hold up to further dilution. There are one or two fun ways to find out.

15 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness!!!! I am salivating!

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    1. It wouldn't be too difficult to whip up your own batch, Elisa. :-)

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  2. Peanut butter and caramel...mmMmM what a fabulous combination.

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    1. Hi misschievously! I agree, I love a peanut butter dessert. :-)

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  3. Hahaha! I have almost this exact same post on my blog - a recipe for chocolate peanut butter slice, with a close-up shot, and the explanation that I added peanut butter to the standard recipe, with no actual recipe given on the post. Difference is, I only talked about veganising it in future. PEANUT BUTTER TWINS HIGH FIVE!

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    1. HIGH FIVE! I'm pretty sure I read your post around the time I published my proper caramel slice recipe. The important thing is we both got peanut butter caramel slice. :-D

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  4. am sure you will enjoy the experiments - sounds fascinating - never considered this but may just love it

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    1. Johanna, there's a nice peanut butter caramel recipe in Veganomicon. I think I even made a slice using it and brought it to AOF's veg picnic last year.

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  5. This is BRILLIANT. Can't wait for you to make it again and post details about the tweaking etc. - I definitely want to make it! I have a sweet tooth too, and a huge soft spot for chocolate and peanut butter.

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    1. Hi AA! Since it took me a year to progress from standard caramel slice to peanut butter caramel slice, you might be waiting a while. ;-) Feel free to start you own experimentation too!

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  6. My *dream* is caramel slice, but homemade vegan condensed milk caramel is such a paaaaaaain. Am going to experiment with it more in some of my new appliances.

    Have an awesome idea for the base, though..

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    1. Hey Mattheworbit, does the Green Edge stock soy condensed milk? It's easier but it's probably pricier, we just bought a tin from Radical Grocery for $6. Tell us your base plan!

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  7. Another replicate - since I couldn't get hold of soy condensed milk, I melted together 1 cup crunchy peanut butter, 1/2 cup golden syrup and 2 tablespoons soy milk. It's looking pretty good!

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