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Salted Peanut Caramel Slice
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 
Author: Claudia Brick
Ingredients
Shortbread Base
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • ¼ cup caster sugar
  • 113 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
  • 1 tablespoon white miso (you can leave it out if you don’t have it, but add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt)
Salted Peanut Caramel
  • 200 g blanched peanuts (shelled and unsalted, raw)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon runny honey or maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons canola or other neutral oil (or peanut oil)
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 120 ml water (1/2 cup)
  • 80 ml cream (1/3 cup)
  • 100 g unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into cubes
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Chocolate Topping
  • 150 g good quality dark chocolate broken into pieces or roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon neutral oil (like canola, rice bran or grapeseed)
  • Sea salt flakes to top
Instructions
Shortbread base
  1. Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Place all shortbread ingredients in the Vitamix jug and pulse 5-10 times on high speed until it forms large crumbs that start to clump together.
  3. Tip out into the prepared tin and press firmly and evenly with your fingers into the tin.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool completely, or pop in the fridge or freezer if you are in a rush.
Salted Peanut Caramel
  1. Roast the raw, shelled peanuts in a baking dish for approximately 10 minutes or until golden – check these regularly and move around in the tin so they roast evenly. Leave until just warm (not hot).
  2. In the Vitamix Blending Cup, combine 150g of the roasted peanuts, the sea salt, honey and the neutral oil. Blend until a thick peanut butter forms – you may have to give the cup a shake halfway through. Tip into a bowl and set aside.

  3. Place the remaining 50g of peanuts into the Vitamix Blending Bowl and pulse until roughly chopped. Set aside.

  4. In a medium pot over a high heat, combine the caster sugar and water. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, and then leave to boil until it turns a golden caramel colour – about 10 minutes. When the edges start to caramelize, swirl the pot occasionally so it browns evenly.
  5. Remove from the heat and carefully add the butter and cream, and whisk until fully combined -the caramel may bubble up as you do this. Add the vanilla paste and peanut butter you made earlier and whisk until fully combined. Add the chopped peanuts and stir to combine.
  6. Tip this caramel onto the cooled shortbread base.
  7. Refrigerate until the caramel is set – minimum 4 hours. If you are in a hurry, it will set in an hour in the freezer!
Chocolate topping
  1. In a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Stir in the oil until fully combined. Tip the melted chocolate over the set caramel and spread into an even layer. Tap the tin on the counter top to smooth out the chocolate.
  2. Place in the fridge again until set (approx. an hour).
  3. Use a warm, very sharp knife (run the knife under warm water then dry it) to cut the peanut slice into squares. Top with a sprinkle of sea salt.
  4. Keep in the fridge in an airtight container – the caramel softens when left out.