Kate Emery: Caramel slice cook-off hits baking point as celebrity cooks accuse each other of plagiarism

How many ways are there to make a caramel slice? Until recent events I would have said not that many. You’ve got a biscuity base made from flour, sugar and some kind of fat, a caramel layer that largely involves opening a tin of condensed milk and a chocolate topping, collectively guaranteed to fill that last remaining gap in your arteries. Then along came RecipeTin Eats guru Nagi Maehashi, to shine a light on the hard work and recipe testing that goes into making a not-so-humble caramel slide. Maehashi has accused fellow online baking star Brooke Bellamy of stealing her recipes for caramel slice and baklava and publishing them in her best-selling cookbook, Bake with Brooki. Maehashi also claims Bellamy plagiarised recipes from other chefs, including US baker Sally McKenny, who has since come forward. The paper’s lawyers are reminding me to put down the piece of caramel slice in my hand — it’s research! — and mention that Bellamy has denied all allegations. She also notes that she was making and selling caramel slice four years before Maehashi posted her recipe online. The paper’s lawyers, while holding that half-eaten slice juuust out of reach, suggest that I make it clear that The West Australian is not accusing Bellamy or Maehashi of anything. What this seriously messy spat has highlighted is just how big of a business online cooking can be. Maeheshi, who has 1.6 million followers on Instagram, has sold an estimated 700,000 copies of her two cookbooks. Bellamy, who has 1m followers, has sold an estimated 100,000 copies since publication in 2024. In a world where we are all supposedly cooking less, Australians still really love to read recipes and buy cookbooks — even if only to read on the couch while waiting for Uber Eats or display to give visitors the impression we’re only ever a packet of filo pastry away from whipping up a batch of baklava. It has also highlighted how strange copyright law can be. In Australia you cannot copyright a recipe. However, you may be able to copyright the way that the recipe is written. Maybe. Possibly. But it’s not been tested. Finally, it has platformed caramel slice, a bakery staple that incorporates the Scottish tradition of shortbread but emerged in its modern-day form, like a butterfly from a chrysalis, in Australian cookbooks of the 1970s. I’ve always appreciated a wodge of caramel slice for its sweet, claggy deliciousness. Now I also appreciate it for demonstrating just how seriously Aussies take our sugary treats.