Minty Chocolate Biscuit Bars

This evening I have more or less been banished from the living room as Molly is hard core studying and I'm not allowed disturb him. I really need to do a shop and get some supplies for my baking cupboard, so this evening I had to get inventive in order to put together this 'Minty Masterpiece' given that I didn't actually have the two bars of milk chocolate in the cupboard that I thought I did. There I was half way through the process of these bars when I realised that in fact I didn't even have the core ingredient in the house! Never fear, I got creative and instead of putting the specified chocolate on top of the minty layer, I decided to replace it with a chocolate fudge frosting. And low and behold....an accidental yet delicious epiphany was born! I love when light bulb moments stem from potential disasters! So here you have it, a delicious Minty Chocolate Biscuits Bars.....enjoy!

Minty Chocolate Biscuit Bars

Ingredients

For the chocolate frosting:
175g brown sugar
40g cocoa
55g butter
120ml milk
3 tablespoons of golden syrup
Dash of salt
3 drops of Vanilla essence
225g incing sugar

For the biscuit:
220g butter
110g caster sugar
230g flour

For the minty layer:
175g icing sugar
5 tbsp warm water
1/4 tsp peppermint extract (don't play around with thism it's VERY strong)
Green food colouring

Method

For the biscuit base
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 10 x 8 inch tin/dish (or similar size). 
2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat it. Then stir in the flour until the mixture comes 
    together (you may need to add a splash of milk if the consistency is very dry).
3. Knead the mixture and then press it into the tray, prick it all over with a fork and place in 
    the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch. Allow to cool in dish 
    completely.

For the minty layer
1. Place the icing sugar in the bowl along wit the peppermint extract and green food 
   colouring. Add the water a little at a time until you reach a syrup like consistency.
2. Place on top of cooled biscuit base, spreading the icing out to all the edges.
3. Place in the fridge until set.

For the chocolate frosting
1. Place the brown sugar, cocoa, golden syrup, vanilla essence, butter and milk in a 
    saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Boil for 3-4 minutes over a medium heat and then remove from heat and leave aside to 
    cool slightly (until lukewarm). 
3. Using a handheld mixer, add the chocolate mixture to the icing sugar and beat until the 
    consistency is suitable for layering over your biscuit and mint base.
4. Pour onto set base and spread to all of the edges. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
5. Once completely set, cut into small slices and serve.

E-D's Notes
- When it comes to these rich bars, a little certainly goes a long way. I like to cut them up into 
  bite size pieces.
- Ensure you allow the biscuit base to cool completely before adding the minty layer, and  
  likewise with the chocolate layer. If you don't the icing will be absorbed into the cake and not 
  create the clean, distinctive lines which may these treats look so lovely.
- If you would prefer a chocolate top instead of the chocolate frosting, simply melt 180g of 
  chocolate (the chocolate of your choice) in a heat proof bowl over a pan of hot water. 
  Then add the melted chocolate to the biscuit base and allow to set.