Millionaire’s shortbread has to be one of my FAVOURITE desserts of all time, as a triple layer shortbread, caramel and chocolate masterpiece. However many of the superstores seem to have toned down their versions, with bland cake like shortbread and tiny layers. I have in the past tried to make my own, however despite following recipes to the letter, they always (without fail) end up an absolute mess. Sion, who is much more patient than me (and a far better chef) decided to give it another try, on my behalf, and created the ultimate millionaire’s shortbread. Even then, I’m being conservative. It’s amazing. Incredible. You simply need to try it out.
Many of the recipes we’ve tried to follow haven’t specified the teeny details you need to stick by in order to make sure it’s a success, so to celebrate my new ‘recipes’ section – I thought I’d try and illustrate it, in case you fancy making it yourself.
Ingredients:
shortbread: 225g plain flour, 175g unsalted butter, 75g caster sugar, caramel layer: 397g condensed milk, 150g unsalted butter, 100g golden syrup, chocolate: 200g your favourite chocolate (i personally recommend Galaxy).
Pre-heat your oven to 150 degrees.
Make up the shortbread layer first, mixing the flour, butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl until a paste like consistency is achieved. Layer this out in a greaseproof lined baking tin.
Pop this in the oven for 30 minutes.
Whilst your shortbread is cooking away, combine all the ingredients for the caramel layer in a pan over a medium heat on the hob. You’ll want this to be bubbling away for 30-40 minutes until the mixture is dark in colour and thick in texture (they don’t tell you this in the other recipes so it’s very easy to get it wrong and end up with very watery caramel).
Once the caramel is ready – usually around the same time as the shortbread, pour the mixture on top of the first layer, ensuring all is covered. Leave it to set in the fridge for 30 minutes until slightly cooled.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave (or over a pan of hot water) until runny enough to pour onto the caramel and shortbread – making up the final delicious layer.
Again back in the fridge (this bit is difficult – as if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to dive straight in). It should take around an hour to set, but if you’re impatient, a quick blast in the freezer speeds up the process.
Make sure you cut yourself a generous portion. It’s the ultimate millionaire’s shortbread for a reason. NO scrimping allowed!
If you do decide to make this, feel free to tweet me with pictures of your masterpieces, I’d love to see how they all turn out!
