Salted Cashew & Caramel Bars

These are lots of things - especially things you wouldn't expect. They are bursting with flavours and textures.

Crunchy, chewy, sweet, salty and nutty. One will NEVER be enough !

I made these last week.... and there are none left ! In my defense, I was very good and did only have one... but several people had rather more. You know who you are ..... :-P

This recipe originated from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book - but I've changed it somewhat to make it mine. It's a tray bake and very easy. Ideal for cake sales or charity events as not only is it seriously tasty - but you can prepare a batch and chop it into portions. It still looks lovely.

My original portions as per photo above were too big - I'd recommend halving them. One lasagne / tray bake silicone mould cut into 12 squares - but this would have been far better as 24 finger sized bars. It also yeilded 4 x mini loaf mould sized bars (each of which I cut into two squares to match the size of the other ones)

The only thing I can fault it on is that my base was too thick. Next time, I'd use 2 x lasagne / tray bake moulds and up the topping by 25%.

Recipe

Base :

250g salted butter
1/2 cup dark brown soft
1/2 cup caster sugar

2.1/2 cups plain flour

cream butter and sugars. Add in flour until a soft dough has just formed. Press into your tins / trays and prick all over with a fork. If using silicone trays - no need to oil or grease at all. If traditional tins, line with greaseproof paper and grease.

Cook at 180deg C for about 30mins if using 2 x silicone lasagne tins - or 40 mins if using one and 4 x mini loaf moulds as I did. The base should just be starting to colour when it's ready.

Topping

200g milk chocolate

1 cup golden syrup

6 princess (or other brand) marshmallows

6 tablespoons of double cream

2.1/2 of salted cashews - I used Sainsbury's budget range (all 1/2's)

Add all the items except the nuts to a saucepan on a low heat. Melt the ingreditents together, stirring all the time. 

 As soon as it gets to simmering point, take it off the heat and pour into the prepared trays on top of the hot base. Scatter the nuts on top.

Return to the oven for approx 5 mins.

Allow to cool in the tin or tray before turning out and chopping into bars. ( I made mine in the evening and popped in the fridge when cool to do the chopping up in the morning !)

Sarah-Jane Nash, http://www.siliconemoulds.com/ - May 2010

Tasty Steak & Ale Pie - Using Silicone Lasagne / Roasting Mould

Steak pie - one of the best dinners on a really cold winters evening. A classic for a Scottish New Year.

With the silicone lasagne / roasting tray mould you can easily make a big steak pie to serve 6 > 8 people. Once made (before cooking pastry), the whole thing including the silicone bakeware mould can be deep frozen for convenience. After thawing, you can finish off cooking it in the same dish.

ALWAYS always use the silicone lasagne / roasting tray mould on a baking tray. Do NOT lift it by the mould itself when full. The mould is intended to be used on a tray and without the tray as support there is a good chance it will tear due to the weight. This could result in burns and a ruined dinner and is not covered by warranty - so please heed this warning.

I will admit - mine never gets that far. Although there are only two of us - my husband won't complain about home made steak pie several days running. Preparation is fairly minimal and the recipe is simple. Cooking time is quite long - but it IS so worth it.

INGREDIENTS

150g mushrooms

250g carrots (peeled weight)

300g onions (peeled weight)

700g stweing steak

7 level tablespoons of plain flour

1 tablespoon of oregano (dried)

1/2 tablespoon of basil (dried)

1/2 tablespoon of thyme (dried)

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (can be omitted)

100g cheddar cheese (preferably strong) - YES - CHEESE !!??!!

3 oxo cubes

1 bottle Theakston ale

200ml water

1 pack of puff pastry

METHOD

Slice carrots, mushrooms and onions. I like to leave the onions quite chunky. If using button mushrooms, you could leave whole

Cube the steak and add the vegetables and meat to the lasagne / roasting silicone bakeware mould. I don't bother browning the meat first.

In a little bowl mix the flour and herbs along with crumbled oxo cubes and cracked black pepper. Choose different herbs if you prefer You could use fresh herbs which would be even better - but mine aren't growing this time of year outside.

Put this on top of the veg and meat in the silicone baking tray and toss to coat along with 50g of the cheese. CHEESE ? Why cheese ? To be honest, I don't really know. I saw it on a Jamie Olive programme a few years back when he put it in a steak pie. I've no idea of the recipe and haven't seen it in a book - but I did add it to my steak pies. It results in a luxurious tasty and thick gravy and definately enhances it. It does not taste of cheese at all - nor does it go all stringy. You won't see it later.

Add the ale and water. Cover with foil and put in a fan oven at 160deg C for 2 hours.

Take out the oven, remove foil. Add remaining 50g cheese and stir. Put back in the oven for a further hour WITHOUT the foil

Prepare the pastry top. I like to roll it out a good bit larger than the dish. I like fairly dense puff pastry on this type of pie rather than toweringly high flakey stuff that goes everywhere when you cut into it. To stop that happening, I score it in a criss cross pattern all over. Mark your portions on the pastry, cutting about 3/4 through it. This will make it easy to serve with a serving spoon or slice. Knives and sharp objects will damage silicone and must not be used within the mould.

Whack the oven up to 200deg C.

Remove the tray from the oven and apply pastry top with beaten egg glaze. We've got our own chickens in the garden - there is nothing quite like really fresh eggs. The yolks are SO golden.

You could just place the pastry on top, but I like to press it to the rim of the mould. It'll puff up and then slip back in the dish, but you get a nice thick pastry edge.

Another 20 mins in the oven at 200deg C and it's done. Meltingly tender meat, thick rib sticking gravy and tasty pastry :-)

http://www.siliconemoulds.com/ - recipe for Steak and ale pie - Feb 2010