If this year has made you reassess your priorities and you’re hankering for a simpler, more handmade Christmas, say it with home cooked foodie gifts. We asked the folk at Daylesford for recipe inspiration and they’ve suggested these naughty but nice sweet treats, which will make just as good a gift to self if you can’t bring yourself to share! They say: “With a thick, lightly salted date caramel and a textured nutty base of almonds and ginger biscuits, this ginger millionaire slice is the perfect festive treat to have with a cup of tea or an ideal homemade gift when presented in a box or brown paper bag tied with string.” daylesford.com
Ingredients
To make the base
- 250g ginger biscuits, crushed
- 240g skinned almonds, roughly chopped
- 50g shelled pistachios
- 50g candied ginger
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 200g unsalted butter, melted
To make the caramel
- 250g pitted Medjool dates
- 100g smooth almond butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 100g unsalted butter
To make the topping
- 250g dark chocolate
Method
- For the base, pulse the ginger biscuits in a food processor to small chunks. Add the remaining ingredients and lightly pulse until incorporated.
- Grease and line a brownie tin with baking parchment and pour in the mixture. Spread it around the tray and press into the edges until even and smooth, then place in the fridge to set.
- Place all of the ingredients for the caramel in a high-speed blender and blend until you have a thick, smooth paste.
- Remove the tray from the fridge and spread over your layer of caramel, using a palette knife dipped in hot water to smooth the top, returning the tray to the fridge once more.
- Melt the chocolate by placing it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the water). Pour the melted chocolate over the caramel and return the tray to the fridge to set for 1-2 hours.
- Once set, cut into neat slices or chunks to serve or gift.