Salted Caramel Pistachio Bars
A crisp brown butter pistachio shortbread base topped with a thin layer of chewy salted miso caramel and crunchy pistachio crumble. Rich without being overly sweet, with plenty of roasted pistachio flavour and just enough salt to balance the caramel.
Ingredients
Pistachio Shortbread
- 150 grams unsalted butter
- 170 grams plain flour
- 70 grams unsalted shelled pistachios, roasted and cooled
- 60 grams light brown sugar
- 25 grams caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Miso Caramel
- 130 grams caster sugar
- 40 ml water
- 70 grams thickened cream
- 45 grams unsalted butter
- 10-12 grams white miso paste
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- 80 grams 60–65% dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 45 grams thickened cream
Pistachio Crumble
- 45 grams plain flour
- 35 grams unsalted shelled pistachios roasted and roughly chopped
- 25 grams light brown sugar
- 30 grams unsalted butter, melted
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
Pistachio Shortbread
- Preheat oven to 170°C conventional / 150°C fan force and line a 20 cm square baking pan with baking paper.
- Place the 150 g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until it foams and the milk solids turn deep golden brown and smell nutty.
- Immediately pour into a bowl, including all the browned milk solids. Cool for 10–15 minutes.
- Process the roasted pistachios until finely ground. Don’t take them so far that they become a paste.
- Combine the ground pistachios, flour, brown sugar, caster sugar and salt.
- Add the browned butter and vanilla and stir until you have a soft, crumbly dough.
- Press the dough firmly and evenly into the lined pan. Bake for 20–23 minutes, until golden around the edges and lightly coloured across the surface. Cool completely.
Miso Caramel
- Put the sugar and water into a small, heavy-based saucepan. Cook over medium heat without stirring until it reaches a fairly deep amber.
- Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the warm cream. It will bubble aggressively.
- Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time until smooth and return to low heat and cook until the caramel reaches about 116–118°C.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the miso and vanilla. Pour over cooled shortbread base and allow to cool completely.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just steaming and pour over the chocolate. Leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.
- Spread ganache over cooled and set caramel and before ganache sets, sprinkle over the pistachio crumble.
Pistachio Crumble
- Combine the flour, chopped pistachios, brown sugar and salt. Stir through the melted butter until irregular clumps form.
- Spread over a lined baking tray. Bake for 10–14 minutes, stirring once, until crisp and golden. Cool completely.