There is something, particularly in the heat, about the combination of salty and sweet. In truth this is nothing more than an elaboration of millionaire’s shortbread, suggested to me by a Saturday night spent lying in bed watching The Bone Collector on TV while eating clumps of peanuts out of my left hand and slabs of chocolate from my right. Who wouldn’t be inspired by that heavenly mingle in the mouth? Ambrosia from the Gods.
for the shortbread base:
225g plain flour
75g caster sugar
175g soft unsalted butter
for the peanut filling:
200g soft butter
1 x 397g tin condensed milk
4 tablespoons golden syrup
250g dry-roasted salted peanuts
for the topping:
250g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
75g good-quality milk chocolate (or 325g dark chocolate alone, to taste)
23cm square brownie tin or similar, sides and bottom lined with baking parchment
Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3.
Make the shortbread base the agreeably lazy way by dumping the flour, sugar and butter into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the double-bladed knife, and process until you have a sandy mixture that is beginning to clump up. Turn this out on to the lined tin and press the mixture in with your fingers. If you have long nails you may find this easier, or at least more cleanly achieved, by using the back of a spoon. Once the mixture’s all pressed in, smooth it either with your hands or a spatula. Prick it at regular intervals with a fork and cook it in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2, and cook for a further 30–40 minutes until it is a pale gold and no longer doughy. Remove to a wire rack and let cool in the tin.
For the peanut-caramel filling, spoon the 200g butter into a large microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave – this should take 2–3 minutes – then add the condensed milk and golden syrup. Whisk the mixture well until everything is combined and stick the bowl back into the microwave. Cook on medium for 6–7 minutes until it is boiling, removing it very gingerly every couple of minutes to give it a good stir. (Making the caramel in the microwave this way is much quicker than the traditional method, and the way I always do it, but be careful not to burn yourself. One day I’ll show you my battle scars.) It’s ready when the gooey mixture has thickened and turned a light, golden brown. Stand to cool for a minute or so and then whisk a bit to disperse the heat. Stir in the dry-roasted peanuts then pour and scrape over the cooled shortbread, spreading with a rubber spatula to make sure it’s evenly covered, and leave it to set.
Again, I always use a microwave to melt chocolate: it is quite the easiest way – no faffing with bowls suspended over pans of simmering water – and the chocolate melts smoothly and seems much less likely to seize. Just break the chocolate into pieces into a microwaveable bowl and cook on medium for a couple of minutes; after which time it may need another couple before it’s melted, but it’s better to take this slowly. Out of the microwave, give the melted chocolate a slow stir with a rubber spatula to combine both milk or dark (leave it alone if using dark only), and pour and spread it (remembering that the less you touch it, the shinier it will be) over the peanutty caramel mixture in the tin. Leave it to cool.
Once set, cut the chocolate peanut block into 24 squares. If you are foolhardy enough to have arranged a picnic, make sure you bring a batch of these along. Just pack the tin, along with a good knife, and cut on site.
Makes 24 squares.