Marbled Caramel Chocolate Bars

Marbled Caramel Chocolate Bars (Adapted from The Cookie Book)

For the base

2 cups all-purpose flour
scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the filling

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
scant 1/2 cup muscovado sugar
2 14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

For the topping

3 1/2 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate chunks
3 1/2 ounces chopped milk chocolate chunks
2 ounces chopped white chocolate chunks

To make the base

Preheat oven to 350

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add the softened butter and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it is very crumbly. Scoop the dough into a 9" x 13" jelly roll (or Swiss roll) pan and evenly pat the mixture down to form a base. Use a fork to prick the top all over - bake until firm and the edges are just beginning to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Remove and set the pan on a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling

In a medium saucepan, stir the butter, sugar and condensed milk over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. While stirring constantly, turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and turns a light caramel color - this can take anywhere between 10-20 minutes depending on how high the heat is. If you don't constantly stir the mixture, it will scorch and give an off flavor. Remove from the heat and carefully pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Working quickly, spread the mixture evenly with an off-set spatula. Leave the mixture on the cooling rack until the filling has cooled and firmed up.

To make the topping

Gently melt each type of chocolate in separate, small heatproof bowls in the microwave - you can also melt them over simmering water if you like. Use a spoon to spread alternate lines (4 total lines) of the bittersweet and milk chocolate over the set caramel filling - we choose to do the order of bittersweet, milk, bittersweet, milk. Drop small dollops of the white chocolate all over the top - gently use a skewer and pull through the chocolates in all directions to create the marbled effect on top. Let cool until the chocolate sets and then cut into bars.

Just found the recipe? Click here to see where we talked about it!