Name: Sweet Envy’s caramel galactic bars (aka fancy Mars Bar slice)
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 400 gm milk chocolate, finely chopped; Black salt flakes or other sea salt flakes, to serve; Caramel; 750 ml (3 cups) pouring cream; 75 gm (⅓ cup) caster sugar; 50 gm dextrose (see note); Nougat; 165 gm (¾ cup) caster sugar; 90 gm dextrose (see note); 60 gm eggwhite (from about 2 eggs); Large pinch of cream of tartar; 130 gm couverture milk chocolate, finely chopped

Sweet Envy’s caramel galactic bars (aka fancy Mars Bar slice)

The celebrated Hobart pastry shop have an sophisticated take on the classic chocolate-caramel slice.

Makes 12

Prep

Cook

40M

Total

1H 40M

“Mars bars are a go-to,” says Alistar Wise of Hobart’s Sweet Envy. “There’s no need to change the formula, but making a version with higher quality ingredients is the trick.” For this fancy Mars bar slice, you’ll need a 12-bar (8cm x 3cm x 3cm) silicon mould.

Ingredients

400 gm milk chocolate, finely chopped

Black salt flakes or other sea salt flakes, to serve

Caramel

750 ml (3 cups) pouring cream

75 gm (⅓ cup) caster sugar

50 gm dextrose (see note)

Nougat

165 gm (¾ cup) caster sugar

90 gm dextrose (see note)

60 gm eggwhite (from about 2 eggs)

Large pinch of cream of tartar

130 gm couverture milk chocolate, finely chopped

Method

1.For caramel, combine ingredients and 30ml water in a deep saucepan (preferably copper) and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once it reaches the boil, stop stirring and cook until 110°C on a sugar thermometer. Continue to cook, very occasionally scraping base of pan gently with a wooden spoon to prevent burning, until caramelised and 115°C (20-25 minutes total; reduce heat if caramel is bubbling up too much). Carefully divide caramel evenly among moulds.

2.For nougat, combine sugar, dextrose and 60ml water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and cook until syrup reaches 150°C (about 10 minutes), then continue to cook until bubbles stop (1 minute). Whisk eggwhite and cream of tartar in an electric mixer to stiff peaks. With motor running, add sugar syrup and whisk for 5 minutes, then add chocolate and whisk briefly to melt through. Pour over caramel in moulds leaving a 5mm gap at the top. Freeze for 4 hours, then unmould and freeze until needed. Clean moulds.

3.To temper chocolate, melt 300gm milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until 45°C. Remove from heat and transfer a third of the chocolate to a separate bowl, keeping it warm. Add remaining chopped chocolate to first bowl and stir until temperature reaches 27°C, all pieces have melted, and chocolate is smooth. Add reserved melted chocolate and stir until temperature reaches 29°C.

4.Sprinkle salt flakes in the bottom of each mould and fill base with 5mm tempered chocolate. Quickly push a frozen nougat centre on top so the chocolate pushes up the sides. Fill gaps with extra chocolate. Refrigerate or leave at room temperature to set (2 hours). Pop out of the moulds to serve. Bars will keep at room temperature in an airtight container 3 days.