Millionaires Shortbread

Millionaires shortbread have always been one of my favourite treats. Gooey caramel sandwiched between thick chocolate and tasty shortbread, who could not love them? I'll admit that I have not tried and tested many millionaires shortbread recipes, but this recipe has never failed me and they taste amazing, like they are straight from a bakery. So I've never felt the need to try another! This recipe was originally by Nigella Lawson, it's so good and worth a try! 

Recipe


Shortbread
225 g. plain flour
75 g. caster sugar
175g. unsalted butter

Caramel 
200g unsalted butter
379g. can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons golden syrup

Topping - 300 g. plain chocolate

Preheat the oven to 170 C. Mix the flour and sugar together and then rub in the butter (or use a stand mixer if you have one - those things are a god send for recipes like this!). The dough will come together and be quite crumbly, but don't worry, press it into a tin (I used an 8x8 square tin) and prick with a fork. Cook for 5 minutes and then turn the oven down to 150 C and cook for 30-40 minutes until a very pale golden brown. 

While the shortbread is cooking, you could make a start on the caramel. Melt the butter and then add the condensed milk and golden syrup. You can either do this in the microwave, keeping an eye on it and mixing every 30 seconds or so, or do it in the saucepan. Surprisingly (I usually prefer microwaves) I do this in a saucepan, because I find it easier to constantly stir it.  DO NOT leave it, I thought it would be a good idea to tidy a few bits up for about 10 seconds and when I came back I had burnt a bit of it! So be very careful. If you watch it you shouldn't go wrong. It takes about 10 minutes to thicken up and turn a lovely golden caramel colour, so when it gets to that stage take it off the heat and pour on to the shortbread. Leave this to cool until it sets. 

Once the caramel has set, melt the chocolate and pour it over, tilting the tin so it covers it nice and evenly. Leave to set completely and then cut into about 16 pieces. Enjoy!