Sunday, August 26, 2007

Pecan, Honey & Caramel Slice


My mum was not well this week & had to have a small op so I wanted to cheer her up, so as well as taking her a lovely drought tolerant plant for the garden (instead of flowers which just die) & a box of Ferrero Rochers (Michael bought back 3 mega boxes from NZ which I did not want to consume all by myself) a home baked treat was also in order, she loves a pecan pie so I thought this recipe sounded right up her alley. This is a Belinda Jeffrey recipe from Delicious Magazine and believe me its very good & dead easy to make as well.

Pecan, Honey & Caramel Slice

2 cups plain flour
½ firmly packed cup (100g) brown sugar
180g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

Pecan topping
125g unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed (200g) brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 ½ tablespoons pure (thin) cream
250g pecans, sliced lengthways
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180c. Grease and line a 4cm deep, 21 x 30cm slice pan with baking paper, allowing the paper to extend slightly over the edges of the longer sides. Whiz the flour, sugar & ½ teaspoon salt in a food processor for 15 seconds. Add butter and whiz until mixture resembles damp sand. Tip into pan & pat out evenly over the base. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Towards the end of baking time, make the topping. Melt the butter in a heavy based pan over medium heat. Add sugar, honey, cream & ¼ teaspoon salt & stir for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium low & stir for a further minute. Stir in the pecans & vanilla, then remove from the heat & keep warm.

Remove base from oven & stand for 1-2 minutes, then spread warm pecan mix evenly over the top. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until topping is bubbling & deep golden. Place the pan on a rack & cool completely. Once cool, slice & store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in a cool spot.


1 comment:

Kiki said...

I was just cleaning my pantry yesterday and found a number of nuts and the like that need using fast. Guess what I'm going to bake this weekend?!!

Thanks for the tip!

PS: I start solids in a fortnight or so, I'm so ready now...I swear this baby is hungry every 1/2 an hour. Or my boobs feel like that at the moment anyway.