Have you ever heard of a Hot Bread Shop? That’s what bakeries were called all over Australia (or at least Brisbane) when I was a kid. No other signage. No fancy names always ending in ‘& Co.’, just a big, probably hand-painted sign in a glass window that said ‘Hot Bread Shop’. Was the bread always hot? No, but they baked every day, so in the morning it was often warm. And when I say bread, I don’t mean the lovingly crafted, long-fermented, slow risen sourdoughs or ryes or even pumpernickels that we get now. No, it was cotton-candy textured white bread, with a crispy crust, and a fluffy interior which was so easily destroyed by too-cold butter. The bread came in lots of shapes, but was all essentially the same dough, formed into rolls with seeds, or dutch crunch (aka Tiger bread) loaves, or whatever.
It’s a lot harder to find a Hot Bread Shop around where I live now, but they’re definitely still out there, with plenty of people dropping in for a loaf of sliced white, a bottle of milk and a paper. And that’s often what I was accompanying my mum or dad to pop in for as well. But I have to tell you, when I was in the Hot Bread Shop, my eyes were never ever on the bread. They were fixed firmly on the refrigerated cabinets. They cabinets had to be refrigerated, because Hot Bread Shops are never air conditioned, and in Brisbane it gets really freaking hot. So, as soon as I was done pressing my over-hot kiddie face and hands onto that cool glass, I got to staring at the treats.
Oh the old-fashioned treats of the Hot Bread Shop. Ten points for however many of these are recognisable to you: neenish tarts, caramel tarts, peppermint slice, lamingtons, mock-cream buns, long johns, finger buns, jam tarts, custard tarts, and scones. But what we’re really here today to discuss is the caramel slice. Now, if you’re from the USA, you would probably call these a caramel bar, and if you’re from the UK you’ll know these as Millionaire’s Shortbread, but Down Under, with the same linguistic flair that went into naming the Hot Bread Shop, we call it Caramel Slice.
The key components are a buttery shortbread base, a thick caramel filling, and a crisp layer of chocolate on top. Sadly, all too often the Hot Bread Shop version fell short, with an underbaked, claggy shortbread, cloyingly sweet, grainy caramel and waxy chocolate topping. My version? It’s killer. The base is crumbly, buttery, and toasty. The filling is thick, salted and I jammed in a little peanut butter because why the hell not. And the topping is pure dark chocolate, no need to screw around. I know you don’t need me to tell you that a crunchy biscuit, some caramel, and chocolate go well together, but this slice is really freaking delicious.
What I like most about it, is that this is essentially quite a fancy dessert. Imagine this baked in a fluted tart shell with a scoop of some fancy gelato on the side and you see what I mean. But by sheer dint of changing the shape, it somehow becomes acceptable to eat a slice of this in the middle of the day. That is the magic of caramel slice, the magic of this beautiful recipe, and the magic of the Hot Bread Shop.
Please someone tell me I didn’t imagine Hot Bread Shops, because my boyfriend has no memory of them. Did you have one in your hood? Is it still there now? Were you as obsessed with the cabinet as I was?
xx Sarah.
- ¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
- 100g (1 stick minus 1 tbsp) butter
- ⅔ cup (100g) flour
- ⅔ cup (75g) almond meal
- 7oz (200g) of condensed milk (that's half a tin - also if you're in the US, this is sweetened condensed milk)
- ¼ cup (55g) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp (50g) golden syrup
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 8oz (200g) dark chocolate
- 1 large piece of honeycomb, bashed to pieces
- edible gold glitter (if desired)
- Preheat the oven to 160C and grease and line with baking paper, a 20cm (8in) square brownie pan.
- Beat together the butter and sugar until it lightens in colour, and then stir in the flour and almond meal until a crumbly dough forms (I find it easiest to do this with my hands, but a spatula works).
- Press the mixture evenly into the brownie tin, and then bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool completely.
- To make the filling, place all the ingredients except the peanut butter into a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens and darkens in colour slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool a little, and then stir in the peanut butter.
- Pour the filling over the shortbread base, and leave to set for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- To make the topping, simple melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the water doesn't touch the bowl) and then pour it over the caramel layer. Tap the pan on the bench to even out the layer.
- Scatter over the smashed honeycomb and glitter, if using. Cut into small slices and serve.
i love that you added pb and honeycomb to millionaires shortbread! normally there’s no crunch even though i desperately want some, so the crushed up honeycomb is a really good idea.
Thanks Heather! Just adding a lil’ glitz, you know me. xx
These are flipping fabulous. I love the honeycomb on there!
Thanks Katrina! xx
yes, We still have our version of the hot bread shop… just your local bakery… and yes, I am still obsessed with the cake cabinet. Three cheers for linguistic flair: aussie, aussie, aussie, oi oi oi!!
They still exist! Woop!
Definitely existed and some are still around today:-). My personal favourites were the sausage rolls and the fresh cream jam doughnuts (like the ones we used to get at ‘tuckshop’). Definitely have to give your caramel tarts a go.
Mate! My tuckshop never had fresh cream anything. That sounds awesome. xx
Hehe Sarah, there are tonnes of ‘hot bread shops’ still here in Sydney, especially if you’re not in the trendy areas… I know every single cake you listed and they’re usually still there. Caramel slice is my fave too but you are so right about the grainy caramel… and the neenish tarts which look and sound so delish but you get a tooth ache after one Bite lol.
Perfect recipe… Yum, love the almond meal in the base!
The neenish tarts! So sugary! In fact, sugary was kind of the watchword at the Hot Bread Shop. Not that I ever complained. xx
No Hot bread shops in the US, I’m afraid… but would gladly import one if it carried one of these slices! They look amazing!
Maybe I’ll open an Aussie Hot Bread Shop in NYC? Get all the brooklyn hipsters hooked on slice. xx
I live in NSW and our bakeries were never called hot bread shops, which is a pity because it’s kind of adorable. But they definitely contained everything you mentioned, and also my absolute favourite thing as a kid: that weird green icing frog with the pink mock cream on the inside. Looking back on it, it seems horrific, but damn they looked great to my kid eyes. Does anyone else remember these? Did they exist outside NSW?
Hahah, I don’t think we had the icing frogs! But they sound so Willy Wonka awesome that I’m super jealous! But they do sound gross. But good gross! xx
Yay for hot bread shops! And I recognise all of your list except Long Johns – are they a Qld speciality? Love choc caramel slice BTW, and the almond meal in the base sounds like a great addition…
Long Johns! They’re awesome! They might be a QLD thing, I have no clue. They’re basically just a cream bun, but instead of being round like a roll, they’re long like a hot dog bun. xx
Oh, the nostalgia! I live in Brisbane but grew up in Auckland and I remember everything on your list, You forgot to mention the wonderfully claggy apple slices that seemed to grace every bakery in the land, too! Our local hot bread shop (it was called Lanes because the people who owned were called…well, I’m sure you can guess) used to make ‘Crescent Rolls’ which were a white bread crescent-shaped roll with sesame seeds on top and a crust almost like a soft pretzel. They were stunning and they seemed so exotic to us. Our idea of a massive treat consisted of fresh crescent rolls, leg ham from the butchery next door and an apple or custard slice. I still miss those rolls…
Firstly, I completely understand your fascination with those crescent rolls! They sound magical. And I can totally relate to the fresh bread/leg ham situation – that’s pretty much what went down at every family gathering at my grandparent’s house. Never gets old. xx
Oh my god these are amazing. I love millionaires shortbread – I’ve made it with salted caramel and it’s so good.
You’re right, most of the shop ones are just rubbish – it has to be homemade.
This looks so good Sarah!
Thanks Angela – I always love getting a positive comment from you. <3
I remember them! They were the only place to get pink smiley face cupcakes with smarties for eyes and sprinkles for hair :D Ahhh I miss them so much, reminds me of summer holidays
ohhhhh yes! Best millionaires bars EVER. Honeycomb is one of my faves And of course caramel and pb and chocolate always are too <3