SHF #6: Sunrise Caramel Shortbread

"It was an instinct to put the world in order that powered her mending split infinitives and snipping off dangling participles, smoothing away the knots and bumps until the prose before her took on a sheen, like perfect caramel. "
    -- David Leavitt

"Brown sugar lassie,
Caramel treat,
Honey-gold baby
Sweet enough to eat.”
    -- Langston Hughes

I was thrilled when Debbie of Words to Eat By announced SHF #6:  Stuck on You, with a theme of caramel.  As food textures go, I’ve always been a big fan of all things chewy:  nougat, sticky-type brownies and blondies, soft toffees, and of course, caramel.  My caramel loves come in many guises, though, not just chewy ones.  I love the flavor of caramel, not just the chew-factor.  I’m fond of hard-candy caramels (like the Spanish caramelo which means any and all hard candy), caramel sauces, crème caramel, caramelized fruit a la upside-down cake…you name it, I like it (except maybe for banana upside-down cake, but that story’s already been told).  And I always look for the square dark chocolate in an assorted box, since that shape often signals a chewy caramel. 

Early on, I dreamed ambitious caramel dreams.  I had in mind a tart, with a crumbly, melting nut crust, a layer of caramel or dulce de leche, then pastry cream perhaps flavored with blood orange, and a sunburst topping of caramelized fresh pineapple rings.  I even went so far as to buy the pineapple.  But it was not to be.  Time escaped me.  It slipped through my fingers as fluidly as the moat of syrupy caramel that surrounds a newly-unmolded flan.  Family crises, work necessities, in short, life – a sweet life, albeit a busy one – all intervened.  So I found myself this week at the eleventh hour having to cut back on my honeyed vision.

I decided on a version of Millionaire’s Shortbread – that sin-worthy treat comprised of a layer of shortbread, my favorite chewy-type caramel and chocolate.  Millionaires and paupers alike have posted a veritable million versions of this treat online – some calling for milk chocolate, others for dark, some for cream-based caramel fillings, others for slow-cooked milk caramel.  As a starting point, I used Nigella Lawson’s criminally rich recipe:  Roxanne’s Millionaire’s Shortbread from How to Be a Domestic Goddess.  I wanted to change it up a little, make it my own.

I still had just one blood orange in the fridge, crying out to be used – and I thought its flavor would meld well with the flavors of my planned cookie/bar/slice.  So I made a garnish:  candied blood orange slices, to be cut into tiny segments for the top of each bar.  I added a touch of ginger and a pinch of cayenne to the sugar syrup, all to good effect.  The slices glacéed beautifully, keeping their color and shape.  I let them dry for a night, and the next night made the shortbread layer, enhanced with the grated zest of a very large navel orange.  Next I tried making the caramel.  I had what I thought was the brilliant idea of substituting the syrup left from the blood orange slices for some of the corn syrup in the recipe.  It was tangy and peppery – I thought it would give the caramel a great flavor.  And it probably would have, except that it upset the chemistry of the recipe.  The caramel, which is made in the microwave, curdled.  It was not the satiny mass I had envisioned pouring over my lovely orange-scented shortbread layer.  I tossed the cruddy caramel out, soaked the dishes and went to bed.  There was always the next night. 

Which turned out to be the next day – even better.  By a stroke of good fortune, I didn’t go to work.  The subway wasn’t running due to a switching problem, and after three hours of trying to get to work, I gave up, went home, and started making caramel again.  This time I adhered to the recipe (and yes, I use the microwave despite the fact that my-cousin-the-doctor has told me that microwaves are dangerous because they change the molecular structure of food.  G’s comment:  “Maybe it changes the molecular structure in a good way.  How do we know?”)  At the very end, when I had my silky bowl of caramel, I fooled around again, adding sea salt, vanilla and orange oil.  It tasted great, and the texture was lovely as I poured it onto its shortbread pallet.  In a trice I melted the dark chocolate, poured that layer on, and let the whole thing set while I ran off to teach a grad seminar.  I came back to cut, garnish and photograph, and after dinner the moment of truth arrived as we actually tasted the bars.  First bite – they’re delicious.  Second bite -- they’re rich.  Very rich.  And very sweet.  I ate a second one, and kinda wished I hadn’t.  In fact, having cut a 9” square pan into 24 bars, I later thought that each of those pieces would be better cut in half, into tiny rectangles.   They’re lovely in small doses, which means they’ll last a long time, hopefully.  In the meantime, I’ll be bringing a plateful into work today, to see what my colleagues think. 

Sunrise Caramel Shortbread
(adapted from Nigella Lawson’s Roxanne’s Millionaire’s Shortbread)

1 blood orange
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
pinch or two of cayenne pepper

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
zest of one large navel orange
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (frightening but true)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon orange oil (Boyajian’s preferred)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp.  fleur de sel or other sea salt
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Cut the orange into neat 1/4 inch slices.  Combine the sugar, water, Grand Marnier, ginger and cayenne in a pot, and heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture boils for a minute or two.  Add the orange slices, bring back to the boil and then cook at a tiny simmer for about an hour, until the slices are candied and the syrup is reduced to a few tablespoons.  Put the slices on waxed paper or parchment to dry, and leave them out overnight.  Cut them into small sections and reserve (I made six segments each out of 4 orange slices to decorate 24 bars).      

Preheat the oven to 325º.

Put the flour, sugar, salt and orange zest into a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Pulse a few times to blend.  Put in 12 tablespoons of the butter cut in chunks, and pulse until you have a crumbly dough (you could of course do this by hand or with a pastry cutter). Press this sandy shortbread mixture into a 9-inch square pan that has been greased and the bottom lined with parchment paper; smooth it with your hands or a spatula. Prick it with a fork and cook for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 300º, and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until it is pale golden and no longer doughy. Let it cool in the pan.

Melt the remaining 12 tablespoons of butter for 2-3 minutes, then add the condensed milk and syrup. Whisk the mixture well until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Heat in the microwave for 6-7 minutes until it is boiling, stirring thoroughly every 30 seconds (this is a bit tedious, but it takes lots less time than making milk caramel on the stove). It's ready when it's thickened and turned a rich golden brown: caramel color, of course. Beat in the sea salt, vanilla and orange oil.  Pour this lush caramel evenly over the cooled shortbread and leave it to set.

Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a bowl in the microwave. Pour and spread it over the caramel layer (the less you touch it, the shinier it will be) and leave it to cool. Once set, cut the caramel shortbread into pieces. Decorate each square with a candied blood orange segment.  The squares can be stored in the fridge during the summer, or just in a covered tin or container during cool weather.  They’re good for at least a week, but can also be frozen for up to six months.

Comments

[rowena]

Oh Julie, how incredibly, incredibly, lovely those bars are! Lucky colleagues!!!

[Moira]

Lucky, indeed! I think those bars would travel well, too...just in case you wanted to send some over my way. ;-)

[K.]

Here's what her colleagues think: those things are fucking good. We fought over them, cut them into tiny pieces, and got reprimanded by our boss for talking about them rather than business during our meeting today. Julie's made a lot of things for her colleagues over the years, but the sunrise carmel shortbread is my favorite so far.

[tt]

I have been spoiled by Julie's baking on Fridays at work for a few years now. The annual holiday plate of cookies is now eagerly awaited. The Sunrise Brownies were "bloody good." Truth told, I was sold before I took the first bite because I love carmel and shortbread...and blood oranges. But the marriage! The palest of carmel I've ever seen. What I love about these bars, and all of Julie's baking, is the juggle of beauty (these are a lovely "study in the nuances of brown") and taste. Others cried, "Rich." But I ate two greedily. And tucked one in my bag to take home for my sweetie.

[Felicia]

Marvelous (drawn out and said as Billy Crystal would)!!
As usual, Julie has out done herself. The Sunrise Crystal Shortbreads are outstanding, just the right balance of sweet, crunchy and smooth. I'm not a great fan of chewy caramel, although I love the caramel coating on a crème brulé (somebody will correct the spelling), but all the flavors just blended so well together.

I appreciate someone who is willing to spend such time on getting just the right consistency and flavor, truly a labor of love. I would have given up at the curdled caramel (beside, I didn't know that something so delicious could come from a microwave).

Thank you for sharing Julie.

[ejm]

Julie, I'm not sure if I'm using the term correctly, but as my English friend would say, I'm gobsmacked.

THOSE. LOOK. FANTASTIC.

And I like the idea of the squares being cut up into smaller squares. It would mean no guilt at having two. The oranges also look amazing and I bet the marriage of tastes is perfect.

You are brilliant. And you are truly brilliant for persevering and making the caramel a second time.

-Elizabeth

[Nic]

Julie - I am definately putting inorange oil the next time I make caramel. It sounds like it worked perfectly! Not to mention how incredibly gorgeous your bars are with that candied orange.

[tanvi]

those look so sinful, my mouth is watering. i like your idea of mixing the flavor of orange with caramel. it sounds so yummy!

[Zarah Maria]

They are so pretty and profesional looking - and the combination of flavors sounds divine! If you ever stop teaching you should become a chocolatier Julie! And I agree with Moira - I'm sure they'll travel well! Hint, hint...:-)

[Julie]

rowena and Elizabeth -- thanks so much for the kudos. These actually were not difficult to make once I got past my caramel mishap. I think a second time they'd go together pretty fast, candied oranges notwithstanding.

Moira, Zarah -- unfortunately I don't think there will be any left to send. The workmates and those at a party tonight are going to be the benefactors this time around :-( But hey, as I'm always saying, come to NY.

K, tt and Felicia -- thanks to my charming co-workers for the live testimonials! One good way to keep me baking and bringing it all in to work!

tanvi and Nic -- yes, do try orange in the caramel -- it's a dream. It reminds me of the caramelly orange-scented florentines I make at holiday time. Thanks so much for stopping by -- I'm gonna run check you both out as well.

[Emily]

hi julie! those shortbread bars are so beautiful! i'm sure they tasted even better.. but man. that picture is enough for me. :) i also liked the quote from langston hughes...

[Bakerina]

Dearest Julie, there's very little I can say that hasn't already been said so concisely and perfectly by everyone above me. Can I just say that you really are a cook after my own heart? You get an idea, a flavor memory, in your mind, and you build from it to create something imaginative while still remaining true to basic flavor principles. Not everyone can do this -- believe me, I have spent a lot of time around cooks, both professional and hardcore amateur (a/k/a the kind that win prizes in bakeoffs) and you would be amazed at how many of them put stuff together just for the sake of creating outre combinations. Not that I mind outre combinations when they work, but when they don't work, the results can be truly nasty.

These, though, these are just gorgeous, and are going to drive me into the kitchen today (although whether I make these or something else, only time will tell ;).

Have I told you lately that every post from you is just such a joy?

[McAuliflower]

Yum, I love your caramel fantasy. (I chickened out on making nougat... going through a candy bar desirous moment lately! )

[Diane Patterson]

Wow. These look great.

I was wondering about the recipe -- after the entry for orange oil, you have 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. A teaspoon of what?

[Julie]

Jen, thanks so much -- your supportive comments always do much to keep me writing, thinking, cooking...there's something you hit upon, about playing with flavors that are under your skin for a reason -- they're childhood flavors, or they might be newer friends, but they haunt you, and so you find ways of dabbling with them. You're right, it's not the same thing as ingredients for fashions' sake...

McAuliflower -- thanks for stopping by -- your entries are amazing, btw!

Diane, thanks for catching that! It's fleur de sel or any other sea salt, and I'll correct that right away.

[Caroline]

I've actually made these, Julie, but from the book. Yours sound divine. I have to make your version of course. I love to pair chocolate and orange together.

Great idea to do it as a caramel shortbread.

C.

[Jessica "Su Good Sweets"]

Looks gorgeous!

[chronicler]

Wow oh wow. Those look amazing!

[Julie]

Caroline, thanks for stopping in -- I appreciate your consistency!

Jessica and chronicler, so glad to see you here -- and thanks for your sweet (ahem) comments...

[Carolyn]

your bars are beautiful and the orange on top seems a great compliment.

[Julie]

Carolyn, thanks for taking a look! I'm a great admirer of your blog, btw.

[Jennifer]

These look and sound amazing - and the layers of taste and texture are so wonderful! What a great recipe. Thanks so much for joining in on SHF!

[Ernie]

Just catching up Julie, these truly are a thing of beauty!

[AliD]

They look amazing, i am just wondering if they can be made without the alcohol?

[Julie]

Ali, you could certainly make these without the alcohol. I'm sure the flavor of the candied orange slices would still be lovely, especially if you're using blood oranges. If it's the alcohol content itself that worries you, though, a small quantity of alcohol like this which remains at a boil for several minutes will shortly cease to contain alcohol at all -- and these cook for an hour! The alcohol surely boils off, and only the flavor remains.