Chocolate Hazelnut slice

I was looking for something to bake this morning as it was time for something sweet.  As I was flicking through a recipe book from the boys school, compiled by the families to celebrate 50 years of the school, I came across this Chocolate Hazelnut slice.  Most of the time when I see a recipe I fancy I want to cook it there and then, so a lot of the time I have to make do with what ingredients I have.  I am not one for popping down to the shops for just a few ingredients as I usually come home with a trolley full.  So if I don't have it, I improvise or twist it to a similar recipe, the same goes with all of my recipes, I never seem to bake exactly the same thing twice. Now I didn't have a hazelnut chocolate bar on hand (they don't last long in our house) but I did have some hazelnuts in the cupboard which I crushed and added to 200g of milk and dark chocolate melts and I also don't use copha so see the alternative if you're not a fan of it either.

Chocolate Hazelnut Slice

250g plain sweet biscuits (milk arrowroot)

125g butter melted

150g flaked almonds or chopped slivered almonds

1/2 tin condensed milk

2 tablespoons golden syrup

200g block hazelnut chocolate melted

30g copha (hydrogenated coconut oil) melted 

(see note below * about alternative for copha)

Line a 20cm x 20cm square tin, (or of similar dimensions) with baking paper.  Call for your biscuit crusher to come and help you, mine is the best helper, he hammered away at a bag full of biscuits and then we poured them into a bowl to finish them off.  

Crush biscuits, chop almonds and place in a bowl.  Add melted butter, golden syrup and condensed milk.

  

Mix well and press into prepared tin, refrigerate.

For the topping, melt the chocolate and copha together in a double boiler and pour over base. Refrigerate 1-2 hours then cut into squares.

*Alternatively:  I didn't have copha, I don't like copha and I won't use copha so instead I melted about 200g of choc melts, a combination of milk chocolate and dark chocolate bits and I added about 30g butter instead.  When the chocolate was melted and smooth I also added a few tablespoons of condensed milk and then the crushed hazelnuts.  You don't have to add the condensed milk if you don't want to as it firms up the melted chocolate mix (this is how I make chocolate fudge) you have to press the chocolate mixture onto the base with your fingers, it's quite malleable when warm, to smooth it out.

  

Once you have pressed the chocolate over the base refrigerate for a few hours and then cut into slices.  It's quite a sweet slice due to the condensed milk and golden syrup but a little piece does rather nicely for afternoon tea or desert.