Millionaire’s Shortbread

I think this is one of my most requested recipes – a true British classic that defined childhoods nationwide. Although BBH has a (very yummy) shortbread recipe, I thought I’d find a simple all-in-one recipe that combines the three aspects of Millionaire’s shortbread together well. I had just watched an old episode of Bake Off, and it had James Morton in it… You know the clever Scottish med student? I always liked him (he reminds me of my brother, though, not as much as Tamal does!). I wanted him to win when he was in the competition! Yeah, so this is his recipe. And it’s really simple. Which my tired, unmotivated self currently appreciates.

These aren’t hugely labour intensive and including the chilling time, will take you under two hours. They are great with tea or coffee and aren’t too sweet. I adapted the recipe slightly by adding more salt than it calls for – I think that qualifies these as salted caramel millionaires shortbread. You guys know how I feel about salted caramel… 😏

This recipe makes 9 large bars, or 16 slightly smaller ones. Heck, just cut them however you want.

For the shortbread:

100g salted butter, softened

50g caster sugar

150g plain flour

For the salted caramel:

200g condensed milk

150g salted butter

50g caster sugar

50g golden syrup

1 large pinch of sea salt

For the chocolate topping:

200g dark chocolate (use dark, not milk to offset the sweetness from the caramel)

Recipe Source

1. Heat an oven to 160FAN. Line an 8″ square tin with parchment paper.

2. Combine the softened butter with the sugar until grainy but amalgamated. Then add the flour and form a dough, you may need to use your hands.

3. Press in to the tin and bake for about 15 minutes, until very slightly golden brown on top (a little browner than mine, which was a little anaemic). Then, leave it to cool.

4. For the caramel, combine all the ingredients (except the salt) in a pan over medium heat. Once you start seeing little flecks in the caramel, stir them in to the rest of the mixture vigourously. Then begin to lower the heat and stir until you reach a nice golden caramel colour. The darker the caramel, the deeper the flavour. Stir through the sea salt once you’re done.

5. Pour the caramel evenly over the shortbread and tap out any air bubbles on the counter top. Leave to cool and set before pouring over the chocolate layer.

6. Once completely set, melt the chocolate, either in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring each time. Pour it over the caramel shortbread and even out with a palette knife. Leave to set once more before cutting in to squares.