Anzac Ginger Caramel Slice

We downunder celebrated Anzac Day last Friday.  It's the one time in the year where New Zealand and Australia put aside their intense sibling friendly rivalry and commemorate together the brave New Zealand and Australian soldiers who fought in WWI.

The day is marked on both sides of the Tasman with dawn parades and wreath-laying ceremonies, the wearing of poppies symbolising Flander's field and the baking and eating of Anzac biscuits, which were oaty coconut cookies sent over as provisions to the troops during the war.

This year we marked Anzac day by welcoming our lovely nephew on his first ever trip to Wellington (along and his awesome mum and dad of course!).

And instead of making my normal batch of Anzac biscuits, this year, in the Anzac spirit, I thought I would do a mash up of a few of Kiwis' and Aussies' favourite slices: Anzac Ginger Caramel Slice.

Oh yes, you heard right, it's the love child of an Anzac biscuit, caramel slice and ginger crunch, all rolled up into one gooey gingery caramelly slab of baked goodness. A true blue trans-Tasman slice.

For my overseas friends not familiar with the slice pedigree of this recipe, think of it as Oaty Coconut Ginger Bars with a cookie base and ginger caramel topping.

It's got just the right amount of chewiness in the Anzac biscuit base with a gorgeous gooeyness in the creamy salted caramel filling and the double-whammy of crystallised and ground ginger gives it an awesome gingery kick.

Top that with nutty toasted coconut and pistachio nuts and you have yourself a little slice of heaven.

And to top it off (over and above the topping even) this is a one pot recipe. Everything in the same pot (with a quick rinse in the middle).  So yea, pretty much a perfect baking recipe in my books.

Anzac Ginger Caramel Slice

adapted from recipes from here, ODT and Bluebells Cakery.

Anzac Biscuit Cookie Base
150g salted butter
3 Tablespoons golden syrup
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup thread coconut
1 ½ cup rolled oats
¾ cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons ground ginger

Ginger Salted Caramel

1 x 395g sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons golden syrup
¼ cup brown sugar
80g salted butter
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup crystallised ginger chopped

Topping

¼ cup thread coconut
½ cup shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
½ cup crystallised ginger, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC. Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven.  Line a 21cm x 21cm square baking tin with tinfoil and spray with baking spray.  

2. For the base: Melt the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar in a small saucepan over low-medium heat.  When melted, add all the rest of the base ingredients and mix well.  Press the mixture evenly into your prepared baking tin.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Cover in tin foil if it is getting a little too browned on top. It should puff up and rise quite a bit and be a bit soft to touch but set.

4. For the caramel: While the base is baking, make the caramel by rinsing out the saucepan you used for the base, put all the caramel ingredients in it and gently melt over a low heat, stirring constantly to stop it from catching on the bottom of the pan.  Take off the heat as soon as everything had melted. 

5. When it is finished baking, take the base out of the oven. Pour the caramel over the top and put the whole thing back into the oven to bake for another 10-15 minutes until it is bubbling and golden on top.

6. For the topping: Toast the thread coconut and pistachio nuts on a tray on the top rack of the oven for about 1 minute at 180oC.  Watch it carefully as the coconut browns quickly.  Mix in the chopped ginger and scatter on top of the slice while it is still warm and gently press into the caramel.

7. Allow the slice to cool completely in the tin (can take up to 3-4 hours). Slice into 3cm x 3cm squares with a sharp knife (It is pretty rich, so works well cut up into little squares).  Keeps in an airtight container for up to a week.