These chocolate covered caramel biscuits involve a few interesting methods of preparation. Three separate recipes are combined to create these delicious little fingers. Starting with the light and crumbly biscuit, then the rich and slightly chewy caramel, and finally the shiny and snappy tempered chocolate.
Every one of them can be used in different applications. So, we’re not only practicing for a single result but we’re learning three skills which can be applied to many other recipes.
You don’t need to be a pastry chef to master these recipes. But you must be very patient when it comes to assembling the three elements. It takes care and attention to detail to cover the biscuits in chocolate and make them look good. I don’t have the patience or the skill, so my biscuits were far from perfect. But a wonky biscuit is still a tasty one!
Work quickly once the chocolate is ready. Do not try and cover too many biscuits at once because the first one will have set too much by the time you finish the final one. Three at a time is plenty.
Notes on tempering: Chocolate must be stabilized to improve the look, texture, and shelf life of it. The only way to make it look shiny and have a nice snappy texture is by tempering.
Chocolate is already in temper when you buy it, but once it is melted the crystalline structure becomes disorganized. When it sets it will no more be shiny and may even start blooming which results in white streaks and spots.
In order to avoid blooming and to give the chocolate the look and texture it should have we must manipulate the temperature of it. All you need is a bowl, a pot with some water in it, and a temperature probe. This can also be done in the microwave with just a bowl and a temperature probe.
Place ¾ of the chocolate in a bowl and set it over a pan with water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Set the pan on medium-high heat and bring the water up to a simmer. Stir the chocolate once in a while and let it melt. Once melted monitor the temperature. Bring it up to 45C – 50C (113F – 122F).
Take the bowl off the pan and wipe off any water from the bottom of it. If any water gets into the chocolate, it will ruin it. Add the remaining ¼ of chocolate to the melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Leave the chocolate to cool down.
The temperature to which it needs to be cooled will depend on the chocolate that is being tempered. Dark chocolate should be cooled to around 30C (86F). Milk chocolate around 28C (82F). These temperatures are not universal and the requirements for specific chocolates might differ.
Try to keep the chocolate warm while you’re working with it. The more it cools down the thicker and the more difficult to work with it will become. The excess chocolate can be reused, but you will need to temper it once more if you want to get the shiny finish.
I used Callebaut 811 54.5% chocolate. The tempering instructions are on the packaging, and it says to cool it down to 27C (81F). You can find this chocolate in my Amazon stores. UK or US. Once the chocolate is ready you must work quickly because it will keep cooling down and become thicker and thus more difficult to apply.
This recipe makes 15 biscuits. It’s a relatively large amount and if you don’t feel confident, I would suggest cutting the recipe in half to make it easier to manage.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the biscuit –
170g (6oz) plain flour
60g (2.1oz) sugar
100g (3.5oz) cold butter
30g (1oz) egg yolk
For the caramel –
60g (2.1oz) sugar
50g (1.75oz) golden syrup or glucose or honey
10g (0.35oz) butter
75g (2.65oz) double (heavy) cream
500g (18oz) chocolate. You will not use all of it.
Method
- Make the biscuit. Combine the flour, sugar, and butter. Crumble until the mix becomes uniform. Add the egg yolks and mix to a dough.
- Roll out to slightly more than 30cm x 10cm (12in x 4in). Trim the edges and cut into 2cm (0.8in) wide strips. Place on a non-stick paper lined baking tray. Bake at 150C (300F) fan on for 20 minutes. Leave to cool down.
- Make the caramel. In a small pan combine the sugar and syrup. Place on high heat and leave to melt. Once bubbling leave to cook until slightly darkened. Add the butter and mix until melted. Add the double cream and mix again. Keep cooking until it reaches 110C (230F). From that point keep cooking for another 30 seconds. Pour the caramel in a bowl and leave to cool down. Once cooled transfer to a piping bag.
- Pipe the cooled caramel onto the cooled biscuits. Spread it out with a spatula to give it a domed shape. Leave in the fridge to cool down.
- Temper the chocolate. Pour it into a piping bag.
- First, cover the bottom of the biscuits. Leave to set. Then cover the tops. Do not try and work with too many at once because the chocolate will set quickly.
- Once all the biscuits are decorated let the chocolate set at room temperature.
Enjoy your homemade Twix!
