You will adore the combination of textures and flavors – crumbly, chewy, and smooth with the contrasting tastes of buttery shortbread, sweet caramel, and rich chocolate. And the flaky sea salt on top is the perfect finishing touch, balancing out the sweetness in this decadent dessert. These bars remind me of the Twix candy bars (and my Twix Cookies), thanks to the caramel and chocolate combination. And speaking of chocolate and caramel, my Caramel Chocolate Bars and Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies need to go on your baking to-do list next! You’ll fall in love with this dessert, trust me!!
Salted butter: I like to use salted butter for the shortbread crust to help balance the sweetness of the crust and it gives it a rich flavor. Be sure the butter is room temperature for the crust. Same goes for using salted butter in the homemade caramel layer; the salt interacts with the caramelized sugars, creating deeper flavor notes and results in a more rounded, full-bodied caramel. Cake flour: In my recipe testing, I found using cake flour made the best tasting shortbread crust. However if all-purpose flour is all you have, that works fine too. Sugar: you will need granulated sugar for the shortbread crust. Sweetened condensed milk: this is what helps give the caramel its great texture. Golden Syrup or Light Corn Syrup: Helps to prevent crystallization and adds a smooth texture in the caramel. Chocolate: Dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate can be used, depending on your preference for the top ganache layer. Heavy cream: used to mix with the chocolate to great the ganache topping. Sea Salt: Sprinkled on top for a salted caramel effect.
