This is a sinfully rich dessert that is always a hit. Made popular by St Elmo’s pizza restaurant chain in South Africa, it is sweetly simple and easy to make.

You’ll need a can of caramel for it – if you can’t find tinned caramel, make your own by submerging a can of condensed milk in a pan of water and boiling for a couple of hours. Keep an eye on it and top up with boiling water as needed. Please wait for the caramel to cool before opening! I usually boil 2 or 3 cans at the same time and stash them in my pantry for use when needed. Because sometimes you just need caramel!

Okay, you’ll need the following:

1 can caramel
half a pint of whipping cream
mint chocolate – a slab or two, up to you (traditionally this is made with Peppermint Crisp but I can’t get it here so I use Peppermint Aero)
Plain vanilla cookies (traditionally this is made with Tennis Biscuits but I can’t get them here so I use malted milks -I’ve also used shortbread)

First, whip your cream. Whenever I make whipped cream I always add a little castor sugar and vanilla essence (this makes it Chantilly cream).

Next, whip your caramel so it’s smooth and soft.

Then finely chop up your mint chocolate.

Crush the cookies.

You’re ready to begin! Take a glass bowl, tumbler or wineglass. Put a couple of tablespoons of crushed cookies in the bottom.

Then add a couple of tablespoons of the whipped caramel, and smooth it to the edges to create an even layer.

Sprinkle some of the mint chocolate over. Add a couple of tablespoons of whipped cream.

Now reserve about 8 tablespoons of the whipped cream unless you have squirty cream available, in which case you can use that later. Also reserve a few teaspoons of the chocolate.

Whip the remaining cream, caramel and chocolate together and pour into the glasses. Top with the reserved whipped cream (or squirty cream) and sprinkle the reserved chocolate over the top.

Voila, a pretty dessert! Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 4-6, depending on how big your wine glasses are.

Alternatively, if you’d like to make this dessert for a potluck or something, simply pour all of the crushed cookies into a glass dish, whip all of the cream, caramel and chocolate together and pour that over the cookies. Refrigerate.

This post was submitted by JenM.

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