Chocolate-Caramel Triangles with Sea Salt

I have two absolutely delicious frozen dessert recipes waiting to be published. Unfortunately, although it is spring officially, cold desserts are still not what we crave for. So I decided to share today a recipe for a baked, very sweet and comforting cake, especially that many persons have already asked me for this recipe.

And because this type of cake on a short crust base called Mazurek is what in Poland we traditionally prepare for Easter, there is one more reason to do it now.

I must admit that this cake is really sweet and can satisfy the sweetest tooth. It calls for milk chocolate, which is my favorite, but with the added sweetness of the caramel, in that particular cake, dark chocolate can be used as well, especially if you prefer dark chocolate.

What makes this cake, as someone noticed similar to Mars or Twix bars, as well as interesting and addictive is the sprinkle of sea salt sprinkle on top of the chocolate layer. It brings up the taste of the chocolate and contrasts nicely with its sweetness. I used a Himalayan pink salt but any good quality coarse sea salt can also be used.

You can make a lot of triangles from a cake baked on a 10-inch by 15-inch cookie sheet, and even a small piece of this cake goes a long way. But the cake stores nicely in an air-tight container for several days and we can indulge in it any time we crave something sweet while waiting for the spring to come.

Caramel-Chocolate Triangles

Ingredients:

For the crust
1 cup (two sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature,
2/3 cup confection sugar,
2 cups all purpose flour,
1 tsp. vanilla essence

For the topping
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk,
1/2 cup (one stick)butter,
1/2 cup sugar,
1/2 cup light corn syrup,
1 and 1/3 cup good quality chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips,
1 tbsp. vegetable shortening,
2-3 tbsp. coarse sea salt.

Preparation:
To make dough
1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and run the engine until they resemble crumbles. Take it out on a working surface and knead into a smooth ball. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. The dough can also be made by hand. First mix with fingers flour and sugar, then add pieces of butter and vanilla and knead all ingredients together to make a smooth ball. Chill.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. Roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 10-15 inches large. Grease lightly the baking tin with butter and, using a rolling pin, transfer the dough on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until crust becomes gold.
4. Take the tin from the oven and let the crust cool completely.

To make a topping
1. In a medium pan combine condensed milk, butter, sugar and corn sugar. Stir over low heat for about 15 minutes until mixture becomes darker, smooth and thick.
2. Pour the caramel topping evenly over the cold crust.

3. In a small saucepan, on a low heat, heat the pieces of chocolate mixed with shortening, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes smooth.

4. Spread the chocolate on top of the cold caramel layer. Sprinkle with salt and chill until firm for about 2 hours.

Cut in triangles and serve. Store the remaining triangles in a cookie box or an air-tight container.