Now, before I get started here, I must make it clear that I have not been
sponsored by Nestle to endorse Caramac – I just love the bloody stuff!
When I discovered that they were launching Caramac buttons –
I gorged myself after finding them in Poundland of all places. I posted the
buttons on the Cakeyboi Facebook page and they sort of went viral! I think
Nestle may be on to a winner here!
I wanted to bake with the buttons and I hit upon Caramac and
apple cupcakes. Sounds sort of like caramel apples doesn’t it? I had made a
couple of cupcake recipes recently however and wondered what else I could
flavour Caramac and apple.
Then I remembered trying flavoured Nanaimo bars at last year’s
Food Blogger Connect conference. Nanaimo bars are traditionally a biscuit crust, a layer of custardy buttercream type
filling and topped with chocolate. I made a variation myself after returning
from FBC, Speculaas Nanaimo Bars – have a look.
I thought that Caramac and apple would work well in a
Nanaimo bar, but how to get apple flavour into the delicious traditional
Canadian treat?
I decided to use some apple juice concentrate and some dried
apple, boiling them down into a syrup. This was quite potent stuff and only a
tablespoon was require to get the tart apple flavour into my custard part of
the bar. The Caramac needless to say was used to top the bars. And thus, we
have Caramac Apple Nanaimo Bars.
Caramac Apple Nanaimo Bars
Nanaimo bars flavoured with an apple
custard buttercream and topped with Caramac
Cuisine: | Dessert | Category: | Bars | Yields: | 20 bars |
Prep Time: | Chill Time: | Total Time: | |||
-
Base
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 55 grams granulated sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 320 grams digestive biscuits (or graham crackers)
- 90 grams desiccated coconut
- 65 grams chopped nuts (pecan is traditional, I used walnut)
-
Filling
- 56 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon apple syrup*
- 2 tablespoons custard powder
- 250 grams icing sugar
-
Topping
- 140 grams Caramac, buttons or bars broken up
- 15 grams unsalted butter
- 1 -2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- Line an 8”x8” tin with foil.
- In a food processor, blitz the digestives until sand-like. Stir through the coconut and chopped nuts.
- In a bowl, over a pan of simmering water, melt the butter, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla and cocoa powder until liquid, stirring constantly.
- Add the biscuit mix to the wet mix and stir to combine.
- Transfer to the foil lined tin and press down firmly in an even layer.
- Refrigerate, at least 15 minutes.
- In a separate bowl mix together the 56 grams of butter, milk, apple syrup, custard powder and icing sugar until smooth.
- Spread the custard mix on top of the base until even and put back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the topping by melting Caramac and butter together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. If the mix seizes add 1 to 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to make it a spreadable consistency.
- Spread over the top of the chilled custard buttercream and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- When chilled, cut the bars into 20 squares.
* Apple Syrup – Boil 125 ml of apple diluting juice with 50 grams of dried apple until only 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid is left. Remove the dried apple pieces.
Looks great - I tracked down the Caramac buttons, but found they tasted different to the bars, or maybe it was just my memory!
ReplyDeleteCaramac oh my goodness takes me back a long way I too loved that stuff!!
ReplyDeletescrummy sounding recipe...giving it a go at the weekend!
ta very much!
Daisy
I've made nanaimo bars few times, and I do love them. Most importantly, I do love this light apple twist you've got here. And even though I've never heard of Caramac, I agree on using them too:) Great job - well done!
ReplyDeleteno way! I was just talking with The Viking about how much I adore Caramac but how you rarely see it these days... makes me feel very old. These look beautiful. I want them now please!
ReplyDeleteThat recipe would put a smile on anyone's face. Excellent use of caramac - I haven't eaten one of those for many a long year.
ReplyDelete