For UK Man and fans of The Great British Bake Off

This sweet recipe is from an alum of The Great British Bake off, the charming Edd Kimber. In his book One Tin Bakes he tells the unusual and as it turns out, controversial story of the origin of the beloved Anzac biscuit. You get a little history lesson about WWI and then, you get an amazing bar recipe, his Anzac Caramel Chocolate Slices.

Anzac Caramel
 Chocolate Slices

Anzac Cookies? Love them! Millionaire’s Shortbread? Grew up eating them. But what happens when you mash the two together? Utterly wonderful, joyous things, that’s what. When making the caramel, ignore your phone for a minute; Instagram® can wait, the caramel needs your total and undivided attention. Anzac cookies, if you haven’t come across them, are Antipodean favourites originally made to raise money to support the war effort in the First World War.

Ingredients:

For the Anzac base

85g (3oz / 2/3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour

60g (2 1/4 oz / 3/4 cup) rolled oats

40g (1 1/2 oz / 1/2 cup) desiccated coconut

1/4 teaspoon flaked sea salt

75g (2 3/4 oz / 2/3 stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup or clear honey

100g (3 1/2 oz / 1/2 cup and 2 teaspoons)

light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the caramel filling

150g (5 1/2 oz / 1 1/3 sticks)

unsalted butter

397g (14oz) can condensed milk

3 tablespoons golden syrup or

clear honey

110g (4oz / 1/2 cup) light brown sugar

For the topping

200g (7oz) dark chocolate, melted

flaked sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4. Line the baking tin with a piece of parchment paper that overhangs the two long sides of the tin, securing in place with metal clips.

To make the base, combine the flour, oats, coconut and salt in a large bowl. Place the butter, golden syrup or honey and sugar in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring every now and then, until melted. Remove from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda and 1 tablespoon of water, stirring together for a minute until the mixture is a little foamy. Pour this over the oat mixture and mix together until well combined. While the Anzac mixture is still warm, tip it into the prepared tin and press into a flat and even layer.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown and a little darker around the edges. Leave to cool in the tin while you make the caramel.

Add all the caramel filling ingredients to a medium-sized saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and continue to stir, scraping the bottom of the pan regularly to prevent catching, for 10–15 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and darkened a shade or two. Remove from the heat and

pour the caramel over the base. This mixture is very hot, so ease it into the corners by lifting and tilting the tin as needed. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.

For the topping, pour the melted chocolate over the caramel and use an offset spatula to spread it out evenly. Pop the tin in the refrigerator and leave for a couple of hours to allow everything to fully set (if you want to sprinkle with sea salt, allow the chocolate to turn a little tacky before sprinkling, otherwise it will sink into the chocolate).

To serve, remove from the tin using the parchment paper and cut into squares. I keep these in the refrigerator, as the chocolate isn’t tempered, but I allow them to come to room temperature before serving as the textures are at their best.

Store in a sealed container for 4–5 days.

Reprinted with permission from One Tin Bakes. Copyright © 2020 by Edd Kimber. Published by Kyle Books.

No, no - you don’t need to MAKE it - just beg a good baker you know. (Hint: serafina ). Then your part is to eat and enjoy - -

I’m up nearly 2 kgs, and know it is from eating all day. It doesn’t seem to make any difference whether we walk 16 km or zero.

That’s a really positive way to think of it! Now that you mention it, I have suspected that a clever thief has slipped into my closet, stealing all my jeans. I say “clever” because, to avoid detection, the thief replaced my jeans with ones that are identical, but smaller.

I’d say you did the right thing. A friend and I were out walking on campus one afternoon when we ran across a professor friend, not known for tact. Mistaking my friend for someone else, he blurted out “The last time I saw you, your face was as big & round as the moon!”

My husband is 5’9” and an insufferable 66 kg. During the pandemic he has eaten circles around me and still hasn’t gained an ounce.

We are very active and don’t eat a lot, either. OK, except for cookies during the pandemic, of course, but who is counting???

But we do love our Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc. You don’t think that liquids can possibly carry calories, do you?

That’s my new mantra. Thank you!