Thursday 2 April 2009

Marvellous Mars Bar Slice

After a few weeks at home following Sylvia’s birth, it was a shock to E to get back to work. She is sleeping better but he still has some disruptions to his sleep. So at the end of that first week I asked what he would like me to bake next. I felt he needed a little indulgence. He asked for chocolate rice krispy slice. Immediately I thought of mars bar slice.

I love chocolate but am happy to say that I consume less chocolate bars than I once did. (In my heyday of travelling I loved trying Snickers bars in every country – just for research, you understand!) They are just an occasional treat now. I confess to finding Mars Bars very moreish unlike some people who say they are too sweet or too filling. I was amazed to find that these bars were originally from the UK and are not found in America. Apparently they are similar to America’s Milky Way bars which are different to the UK/Australian Milky Way. How confusing. If you don’t know Mars Bars, just imagine a layer of nougat, a layer of caramel all covered in milk chocolate!

I shouldn’t be so surprised because E and I still come across different terminology from Scotland and Australia. In Scotland I loved hearing people referring to babies as the wee bairn because it seemed so uniquely Scottish! I recently found from E that he had never come across people calling a baby, ‘bubs’, which is quite common in Australia.

When E asked for rice krispy slice I knew what he meant. His rice krispies from the UK are what we know in Australia as rice bubbles. (Yes the ones that go snap crackle and pop!) I don't eat them now but often had them for breakfast as a child when no one was concerned about how many vitamins and minerals they contained! The slice I found in my Australian Women’s Weekly Cakes and Slices Cookbook was called Choc Top Crunchy Slice but it seems too vague to identify it. I have always called it Mars Bar Slice.

E held Sylvia to stop her crying while I cooked. It is hardly baking – just a bit of melting and mixing. It is the sort of slice that needs to set in the fridge but it tasted soooooo good warm with melty chocolate on top that we had eaten our fair share before it even reached the fridge. Once it had set, I kept it out of the fridge because it was so hard when really cold and we both prefer it softer.

E was upset when it was finished rather quickly. (Yes, I ate more than he did but he didn’t have the slice tempting him at home all day!) He kept telling me how much he loved it. I have said I will make some for his birthday. I highly recommend it despite it being full of processed food. But be warned that it is dangerously delicious and hard to resist.

I am sending this to Poornima at Tasty Treats for her For the Love of Chocolate event.

Mars Bar Slice
(from Australian Women’s Weekly Cakes and Slices Cookbook)

3 x 60g mars bars, chopped
90g butter, chopped
3 cups rice bubbles
250g milk chocolate, chopped
30g butter, chopped

Melt butter and mars bars in large saucepan over low heat. Continue to stir over low heat till mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add rice bubbles and mix. Spread into small slice tin (18 x 28 cm).

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat or in microwave. Spread chocolate over rice bubble mixture. Cool and refridgerate a few hours till chocolate set. Use sharp knife to cut into squares. Serve at room temperature.

On the stereo:
Songs for the young at heart: Various Artists

16 comments:

  1. I want to reach in and grab one of these directly! And aren't we lucky in Canada to be part of the Commonwealth and enjoy Mars bars any time we like?? I must say, though, it seems a shame to melt it and combine all those layers into one mass--what I love about Mars is the distinct layers of nougat, caramel and chocolate. (But that wouldn't stop me from trying these--for research, you understand). ;)

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  2. I'll have to hid this from my husband or he'll be wanting these.

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  3. This is one of David's specialities. They're very, very popular!

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  4. OH! I must make this! No I must not! It will sit in the fridge, calling my name....ALL day and I will end up eating the entire batch...but I will make it, I can tell ;)

    Looks fabulous!

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  5. Thanks Ricki - glad you are able to enjoy mars bars - it is a shame to melt them - but worth it too!

    Thanks Tanna - they are indeed hard to resist

    Thanks Wendy - I imagine they get David lots of friends

    Thanks Vegetation - if you keep them in the fridge they will be easier to resist because they are rock hard but still the temptation is great!

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  6. Rice bubbles is such a cute name! These are the kind of sickly sweet treat I could have eaten by the ton when I was a child!!

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  7. jai doesn't have a sweet tooth, but these he will polish off. they look awesome.

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  8. My mum used to make this, but she added some golden syrup to hers. You have just reminded me of how good it is :)

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  9. They look great. Sometimes it's the no-bakes that are the best - my dad doesn't really like cake but he loves the crispy cakes I posted recently!

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  10. Thanks Flower - I would have loved this as a kid too

    thanks Bee - this is a slice that is only too easy to polish off!

    thanks Holler - golden syrup would give a nice flavour - might try it some time

    thanks C - crispy slices are a nice change from cakes - I like both!

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  11. The chocolate on the top of these make them look SO good! I love finding out what words differ from one place to another and it's pretty funny that so many of the ingredients in such a simple recipe mean different things to you both!

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  12. Thanks Lysy - it is strange how processed foods vary from country to country - in fact I was surprised when I first went to the UK to find that the cadbury chocolate there tasted different to the one we got in Australia

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  13. eek, i hate to be the bringer of bad news but i heard that mars chocolates aren't vegetarian - they use rennet

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  14. thanks philippa - I have checked the ingredients and can't see rennet or gelatine among them - a search on the web was a little confusing but I think that there were plans to put rennet in but these were dropped due to protests

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  15. from ex mars bar rep.. meeting up with 2 ex mars folk for valentines day guess what i am bringing? after 20 years we will still enjoy them on the beach with some crisp sparkling moscato and long suffering husbands Brisbane QLD

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  16. Oh dear, I arrived here looking at salads and got side tracked by Mars bar slices. I wonder which one my kids would like me to make this weekend?!!!

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