Millionaire’s Shortbread
Rich golden caramel, smooth chocolate, crumbly shortbread base – was there ever a tastier trifecta? Everybody loves this classic tea time treat. Follow our easy step-by-step recipe and modify the chocolate topping to your own taste. We have used milk chocolate mixed with dark chocolate because we like the combination - but feel free to go completely milk chocolate or totally dark chocolate if you prefer.
Ingredients
For the shortbread layer:
100g caster sugar
200g salted butter, softened
300g plain flour
For the caramel layer:
2 x tins (each 395g) condensed milk
200g golden syrup
5 tbs caster sugar
400g salted butter
1 tsp salt
For the chocolate layer:
300g milk chocolate
100g dark chocolate
50g white chocolate
2tbs and 1tsp sunflower oil
Equipment
Tala Performance brownie pan (measures 29.4x19.1x4cm)
Baking parchment
Hand-held mixer
Drinking glass or similar object with a flat base
Medium size heavy-based saucepan
- Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius fan (284 degrees Fahrenheit fan).
- We are going to work from the bottom up. So, starting with the brownie pan, cut a piece of baking parchment large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan and press the paper into the corners to line it.
- In the large mixing bowl, use the hand-held mixer to cream the butter and caster sugar until pale.
- Add the flour and mix again until the mixture forms crumbs resembling golden crumble topping.
- Tip the crumbs into the brownie pan, spread them out evenly and pack them down with your hands. Then take a flat object, like the bottom of a drinking glass and tap all over the surface of the crumbs so that they are as flat and smooth as possible.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown, then remove from the oven, place on a heat-proof surface and allow to cool in the tin.
- Make the caramel by putting the golden syrup, sugar, condensed milk and butter into a heavy-based saucepan.
- Stir over a very low heat for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
- Turn up the heat very slightly and bring the mixture to a low boil. Keep the low boil going, stirring continually, for about 20-25 minutes until the mixture has turned a deep golden brown colour and thickens slightly. Try to let the mixture catch as little as possible. (This is hard to avoid, if a few specks of brown appear, don’t worry, it won’t change the taste.) Stir in the teaspoon of salt.
- Tip the caramel over the shortbread base and tilt the pan to spread it out to form a smooth even layer, taking great care as the caramel will be incredibly hot.
- Allow the caramel to cool to room temperature. (Do not refrigerate or it will cause the chocolate layer to harden too quickly, making the pattern difficult to make.)
- Break the milk and dark chocolate into pieces, melt and stir in 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (I prefer to melt chocolate in the microwave on a low setting). In a separate container, do the same for the white chocolate, this time adding 1 tsp of sunflower oil.
- While the chocolate is still molten, tip the milk/dark chocolate into the brownie pan and tilt the tin from side to side to level out the chocolate into an even layer.
- Working quickly, transfer the molten white chocolate into the piping bag and snip off the end of the bag so the chocolate can flow through.
- Pipe 6 white chocolate lines, evenly spaced out, crossways across the tin, You can go over the lines to thicken then up if you have enough white chocolate.
- Then, taking the kebab stick, drag the pointed end lengthways through the chocolate from one end of the tin to the other. Make about 5 evenly spaced ‘passes’ through the chocolate, then do the same in the opposite direction in between the lines already made, so that you end up with a feather pattern.
- Place the tin in the fridge and allow to cool.
- Remove from the tin, cut into squares and serve!
