Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread

Salam to all,

Last Friday I had to take Jannah to the doctor bcos she said there's water in her right ear and also it was sore whenever she tried to swallow her food and drink.  The doctor said she was suffering from ear infection and her tonsils were a little bit swollen.  Doctor prescribed ear drops and paracetamol for Jannah.  Next day, she starts developing coughs and blocked nose and was a little feverish.  She is not one who will sleep during the day....I wonder why is it so hard for her to sleep during the day??  I've tried making her go to sleep but she really fights it....I gave up.  She's like her usual self jumping and running around even though she's unwell.

Today, my baking plan was put to a pause as I had to attend to Jannah.  She vomited on her clean clothes right after her shower.  Lucky that hb was around to help clean up the mess on the carpet and I had to shower Jannah for the second time...haizzzz. I hope that its gonna be sunny tomorrow as I have tonnes of clothes that needs to be washed.  She's still her usual self after the merlion incident and right now she's tossing and turning in bed, wide awake, telling me grandmother's story even though its closed to 9pm.  Sleep Jannah sleep ZZzzzz.

Hb is having his 4 days off this week and I've been a little bit of a bully.  Yup yup....really only a little bit ok hehehez.  His off day started last Saturday and I havent done a single cooking since then.  We had fish & chips takeaway on Saturday and the past 2 days......hb made breakfast and dinner for us *blessed ;)*   He even did the vacuuming and mowed the lawn (this I have never done in my life...heezzz)  I only did the dishes as I don't trust his dish washing skills ahakkkss.  His only complain was......I havent baked anything for ages.  Okay I said....I will bake something today.

This Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread has been in my list for awhile now.  I have to admit that this is no easy bars to be made.  It was a series of disastrous train wreck for me :(  I must have under baked the shortbread layers.....it was too crumbly.  I used the brownie pan with cutter and the middle caramel layer got stuck when I tried to pull the cutter out, when I want to pour the chocolate layer.  I didnt re-insert the cutter after pouring the chocolate layer.....which was another mistake and that made cutting this bars so difficult and ugly of course.  Hb whom is crazy with shortbread and caramel said that the caramel layer was too overpowering that he cant even taste the shortbread anymore.  Hmmzzz......disastrous isnt it??!!  The outcome of my bars were indeed world's apart from those of Annie's :( lucky for me that I only made half of the recipe.

Source : Annie @ Annies-Eats
INGREDIENTS : (I made half of the recipe and used a 6.5 x 9 inches pan)
For the shortbread layer:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar

For the caramel layer:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp. light corn syrup
2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk

For the chocolate layer:
8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Valrhona Manjari)
1 tsp. light corn syrup
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Fleur de sel or sea salt, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS
To make the shortbread layer, preheat the oven to 325° F.  Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a fork to blend, and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1-2 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed blend in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press in an even layer over the bottom of the pan.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden.  (If the crust puffs up a bit while baking, just gently press it down while it is cooling.)  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

To make the caramel layer, combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.  Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly.  Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber color and thickens slightly.  Pour the mixture over the shortbread layer, smooth the top, and allow to cool completely and set.  (I chilled at this stage to ensure that the caramel layer would not melt when the warm chocolate was added.)

To make the chocolate glaze, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.  Pour evenly over the caramel layer and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.  Allow to cool for a minute or two and then sprinkle with fleur de sel.  Chill, covered, until ready to slice and serve.

Alhamdullilah Jannah's asleep now ;) Time check 9.30pm.  Hope my dental ordeal tomorrow will be easy breazy, InsyaAllah.  Have a great week ahead.....TTFN.