Millionaires Shortbread
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
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Millionaires Shortbread

By April 2, 2016

A Chocolate Caramel Biscuit good enough for any Millionaire with a sweet tooth.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to Fan  160 degrees Centigrade.
  2. Line a 15cm square tin with greaseproof paper.
  3. Cut the butter into cubes. In a food processor but in all of the shortbread ingredients except for the water. Blend until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the water one tablespoon at a time and mix. The dough is ready when it is just starting to come together. If it still look a bit too dry add some water. I had to add 2 tablespoons of water to my mix.
  4. Pat the mix down into the tin so that it is evenly spread out. Prick the top of the biscuit base  with a fork.
  5. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes until the biscuit has gone very slightly brown, a light beige. Don't over cook the shortbread as it can taste burnt.
  6. Whilst you are waiting for the shortbread make the caramel topping.
  7. In a medium saucepan melt together all of the caramel sauce ingredients. Start heating on a medium heat until the sugar has melted and then turn up the heat. Stir the mixture all of the time. The mixture should have a rolling boil. It will start to feel thicker after a few minutes. For me this took about 10 minutes to reach this stage, it could be quicker for you.
  8. Once the shortbread has cooked pour the thickened caramel over the top of it. Leave to cool for a few minutes before covering with cling film and putting in the fridge.
  9. Once the caramel is fully cold you can make the chocolate topping.
  10. The safest way to melt the chocolate is to melt it in a bain marie (water bath). You will need a heatproof bowl and a saucepan that it  rests on the top of without touching the bottom of the pan. Fill the bottom of the sauce pan with some water check that  the water level doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl when that is added. Put the pan on a medium heat. Break the chocolate into pieces and add it into the bowl resting on top of the pan. After a few minutes the water should start to boil, turn the heat down and let it simmer gently. The chocolate should start to melt stir occasionally until it has fully melted. Remove from the heat and then pour over the set caramel.
  11. Return the shortbread to the fridge until the chocolate has fully set.
  12. To cut the shortbread into pieces warm a large knife in some hot water and then it should be easier to cut. Cut the shortbread into 15 to 20 pieces.
  13. Store covered in the fridge.

Millionaires Shortbread is a true Scottish Classic. If you haven’t heard of it, it is a shortbread base topped with a layer of caramel and then finished off with a layer of chocolate. It is certainly not diet food, but it tastes really good. In the UK you can find a version of it in most supermarkets or Bakeries. Part of the charm of the biscuit is the crunchy biscuit base combined with the gooey caramel and topped with a layer of fridge cold chocolate.

carnation condensed milk

In Germany you have to make your own. This recipe takes about 2 hours to make including cooling but is well worth it. The key to success is to use a sweetened condensed milk. My favourite Japanese Supermarket, Hanaro Markt ,sells Carnation Condensed Milk which is perfect.  A German equivalent is apparently Milch Maedchen sold in a tube. Don’t use Kondensmilch as this is not the same. I have only so far tried the recipe with Carnation and it turned out great.

In this recipe I have included some semolina into the shortbread recipe which helps to give some extra crunch. For the caramel sauce you combine the condensed milk with butter and brown sugar. You can either use dark or light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar gives a more fudge like taste. I will it with light brown sugar next time and get some feedback on which version most people like. For the chocolate topping I used half 70% dark chocolate and half milk chocolate. This worked really well and I would definitely recommend this combination. I have used 200g of chocolate, a lot of other recipes use almost twice as much. I think this is enough chocolate let me know what you think.

 

 

The biscuits’ name probably came from the fact that Millionaires Shortbread is very rich. You only need a small square of it.  Once the bars are ready keep them in the fridge. They should last for a few days if you aren’t too greedy.

The shortbread used here contains less sugar than a normal shortbread. If you just want the traditional version check out this traditional  shortbread recipe. For a low GI (low sugar version) you can also try these two healthier recipes Lemon and Chia Seed Shortbread or Low GI Hazelnut Shortbread.

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