Caramel Crumb Bars – Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Caramel Crumb Bars, a dessert that strikes the balance, between the lusciousness of caramel and the delightful crumbliness. This recipe goes beyond creating a dessert; it’s a journey into crafting a sweet masterpiece. With is a blend of granulated sugar, unsalted butter, heavy cream, and a touch of salt for the caramel sauce, combined with essential ingredients like all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and brown sugar for the crumbly texture. This indulgent treat is truly a celebration of flavors.
I can still vividly recall my first attempt at baking these Caramel Crumb Bars. It was one rainy afternoon that seemed tailor-made for embracing the joys of baking. As the tantalizing aroma wafted through our home both my spouse and child gravitated towards the kitchen with anticipation to sample this creation. The sheer delight on their faces upon taking that bite turned this recipe into a family favorite.
What makes these Caramel Crumb Bars truly special?
These Caramel Crumb Bars aren’t any treat; they offer an enticing culinary escapade with every mouthful. The salted caramel sauce brings forth a richness and depth of flavor that simply cannot be replicated by store-bought alternatives. Elevating the taste experience to new heights. The juxtaposition, between the velvety buttery base and the satisfying crunchiness of its topping, creates an utterly delightful sensory encounter. These bars are incredibly versatile. Have an appeal making them suitable, for all kinds of events whether it’s a laid-back family get-together or a fancy dessert spread. The best part is how easy they are to make. You can customize them with your homemade caramel. Use store-bought if you prefer. That’s why they’re a choice, for both beginners and experienced bakers.
What You Need To Make This Caramel Crumb Bars Recipe?
Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is the ingredient, for both the caramel sauce and crumb base. It transforms into an elixir setting the stage for a delectable caramel experience.
Unsalted Butter: We chose butter because of its purity and neutral taste. It allows us to control the saltiness perfectly in both the caramel sauce and crumb layers resulting in a blend of flavors.
Heavy Cream: The key to achieving a velvety caramel sauce lies in using cream. Its creamy texture adds indulgence and comfort to every bite.
Coarse Salt: Adding a pinch of salt to the caramel sauce works like magic. It enhances the sweetness while introducing a note that tantalizes your taste buds.
All-Purpose Flour: Our shortbread base and crumb topping rely on all-purpose flour as their foundation. This versatile flour provides structure delivering a tender firm crumb that complements the lusciousness of our caramel.
Cornstarch: Also known as corn flour in some regions this secret ingredient brings an exceptional texture to our crumb topping—slightly crispy with a touch of tenderness—creating an irresistible contrast, against the gooey goodness of our caramel.
Light Brown Sugar: We include sugar, in the crumb topping to give it a touch of molasses sweetness. This ingredient brings out a flavor and a subtle undertone of caramel that perfectly complements the caramel layer.
Salted Caramel Sauce: This is the star! Whether you make it at home or buy it from the store this sauce not only adds a gooey and indulgent layer, to the bars but also gives each bite a wonderful balance of sweet and salty flavors.
Steps To Make Caramel Crumb Bars:
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Step 1: To make the caramel sauce you’ll need to heat sugar in a pan, over medium heat and stir it until it turns into an amber liquid. Then add butter to the pan. Reduce the heat before whisking in heavy cream until everything is well combined and smooth. Finally, stir in some salt. Allow the sauce to cool down.
Step 2: For the preparation preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper.
Step 3: To create the base of the dessert start by mixing melted butter and sugar together. Then gradually incorporate flour, cornstarch, and salt into the mixture until everything is well blended. Take half of this mixture. Press it firmly into the pan while refrigerating the remaining portion for now.
Step 4: Bake the base in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Until it turns golden brown. Allow it to cool for 20 to 30 minutes before proceeding.
Step 5: Next comes the caramel layer. Spread an amount of caramel sauce over the baked base. Now take what’s left from your dough mixture and mix in some sugar before crumbling it on top of the caramel layer.
Step 6: Return your creation back to the oven again for another round of baking. This time bake it for around 25 to 30 minutes. Until you see that golden color, with bubbles forming on top. Once done let it cool within its pan for three hours before serving.
Tip:
Achieving the texture, for the topping requires a special technique; chilling the dough. Once you’ve combined all the ingredients for the base and crumb topping it’s important to refrigerate the portion of dough that will be used for the topping. This cooling process solidifies the butter in the dough resulting in a textured topping when baked. It ensures that each crumb maintains its shape creating a contrast, to the smooth and indulgent caramel layer. This simple step takes these bars to another level by enhancing their texture making them not only delicious but a sensory delight.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I use store-bought caramel sauce?
Certainly! While making it from scratch is tasty using a made sauce is an option, for saving time.
How do I store these bars?
You can keep them fresh by storing them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay delicious for 5 days.
Can I freeze them?
Absolutely these bars freeze wonderfully. Just wrap each one individually. Pop them in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
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Planning to try this recipe soon? Pin it for a quick find later!
<Remember it later>
Planning to try this recipe soon? Pin it for a quick find later!
Caramel Crumb Bars
Ingredients
For the Salted Caramel Sauce (or use pre-made sauce):
- 1 c 200 g Granulated Sugar
- 6 tbsp 84 g Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
- ½ c 120 ml Heavy Cream
- ½ tsp Coarse Salt
For the Shortbread Base and Crumb Topping:
- ¾ c 168 g Unsalted Butter, melted
- ¾ c 150 g Granulated Sugar
- 1 ¾ c 219 g All-Purpose Flour
- 3 tbsp 22.5 g Cornstarch (referred to as cornflour in Australia)
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
For the Caramel Layer:
- ⅔ c 160 ml Salted Caramel Sauce
Instructions
- First, you have the option to prepare caramel sauce by melting sugar in a saucepan, on medium heat until it turns amber-colored. Then add butter and stir until combined. Lower the heat and mix in cream until the mixture becomes smooth. Stir in some salt. Allow it to cool.
- Next let's move on to making the base and crumb topping. Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper. Blend melted butter with sugar then add flour, cornstarch and salt to form a dough. Press down half of the dough into the pan. Refrigerate the remaining portion.
- Now it's time to bake the base. Place it in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Until it turns golden brown. Let it cool for around 20 to 30 minutes.
- Once your base has cooled down spread caramel sauce over it
- In a bowl mix sugar with the remaining dough and crumble this mixture over the caramel layer.
- Bake everything again for 25 to 30 minutes. Until you see a golden topping, with bubbling caramel.
- Allow your bars to cool in the pan for 3 hours before serving them.
- To serve them neatly use parchment paper to lift them out of the pan. Cut them into desired pieces. Savor each bite!
Notes
I’m Bitty, owner of nodashofgluten.com, where I share simple, delicious recipes for all tastes, including gluten-free. Check out my “About Me” page for more info!
