Did you know that three quarters of Aussies have at least one cup of coffee every day? With international coffee day taking place on 1 October, GemLife chef Matt Conquest shares a delicious and easy coffee-inspired recipe to celebrate one of the world’s most widely consumed beverages. No matter how you like it this is sure to be a tasty addition to your morning or afternoon cuppa.
INGREDIENTS
For the Base
200g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
40g macadamia nuts
250g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
75g caster sugar
½ tsp sea salt
For the caramel
4 tbsp strong coffee powder
100g dark brown sugar
2 x 400g cans sweetened condensed milk
For the chocolate topping
300g dark chocolate, chopped
50g unsalted butter
1 tsp strong coffee powder
100g roasted macadamia nuts, roughly crushed
Step 1
Heat your oven to 160C on fan forced. Line the base and sides of a rectangular 20 x 30cm tray with baking paper.Step 2
For the slice base, put the macadamia nuts in a blitzer until finely chopped. Add the flour, sugar, butter and ½ tsp salt and blitz until the mixture is combined. Place onto a bench and bring the mixture into a dough. Press the dough into the base of the tin and bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden, then allow to cool.Step 3
The caramel is next. Mix the coffee powder in a heavy based deep pan with 1 tablespoon of boiling water to dissolve. Put the condensed milk and sugar in the pan with the espresso mix and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, boil vigorously for 3 minutes, continuously whisking the mix until the colour has deepened slightly, and the caramel has thickened. Leave to cool for 20 minutes, then pour the caramel over the slice base and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Step 4
Now to make the topping! Heat the dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts until evenly melted. Stir through the coffee. Pour over the caramel layer. Swirl and drizzle the white chocolate over the dark chocolate layer. Scatter over the roughly chopped macadamia nuts. Chill for a further 2 hours or overnight to set before slicing into squares.
To serve
Serve these little coffee treats up next time you have a morning or afternoon tea. You can vary your nut of choice from hazelnuts to pistachios or whatever you so desire – the options are endless.
Enjoy and remember, we can celebrate International Coffee Day every day of the year. Cheers to that!
[clear]