Recipe: Millionaire's Shortbread (Nigella Lawson)

Millionaire's shortbread, also known as caramel shortbread is a classic British treat consisting of three delicious layers- the buttery shortbread, luscious caramel and a chocolate topping. Have you ever tried this before? In the UK, you can easily get this in bakeries or even supermarkets - one of our favorite ones are from Thorntons. Nowadays, you can get some cool variations such as salted caramel layer or white chocolate topping. The name millionaire's come from the fact that this is a very "rich" treat.

Millionaire's shortbread

Hubby's favorite sweet treat - got this on our last trip to the UK

This month, I have been quite busy with my egg recipes for Little Thumbs Up, so imagine my delight when Hubby-and-daughter team made us millionaire's shortbread one afternoon. Double bonus for me, I get to enjoy this fantastic treat and so happened he picked Nigella's recipe so I get to post this for "Cook Like Nigella Lawson" too. So, thank you to my two darlings.

So, you start off by making and baking the shortbread. You can get your kids to help with this part. Baby C did a great job from forming a dough, to pressing it in the pan and then pricking it all over with a fork. Then, comes the caramel part which is made easy with condensed milk - this takes about 10 minutes to make and it's really easy! Finally, you melt the chocolate (any chocolate will work) and pour it on top and let it set. We did find it a little difficult to cut, because the caramel seems to melt very quickly in the hot climate.

Baby C helping out

Caramel love

These were absolutely delicious, and they were gone within 2 days. Since Hubby did such a great job making these, I'll have to convince him to make another batch soon :)

  Oh YUM!

Roxanne's Millionaire's Shortbread
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess
Makes 24


Ingredients

For the shortbread:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup caster sugar
170g butter

For the caramel

230g butter
14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 tbsp golden syrup

For the chocolate layer:
12oz bittersweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan or similar, and line the bottom with baking paper.

2. Put the flour and sugar into a bowl, and rub in 170g butter, clumping the dough together to form a ball. Press this sandy shortbread mixture into the pan and smooth it with either your hands or a spatula. Prick it with a fork and cook for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 300°F/150°C, and cook for a further 30-40 minutes, until it is pale golden and no longer dough. Set aside and let it cool in the pan.

3. Melt 230g butter in a saucepan over low heat, then add the condensed milk and syrup. Whisk the mixture well until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Heat over medium heat until it is boiling, stirring regularly. It is ready when it has thickened and has turned a light golden brown, this will take about 8-10 minutes. Pour this caramel evenly over the cooled shortbread and leave it to set.

4. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a bowl over a pot of simmering water or use the microwave. Pour and spread it over the fudge mixture and leave it to cool. Once set, cut the caramel shortbread into pieces. The squares can stored in the fridge to keep them firm.

Note: Kids can help with preparation of the shortbread. 


*I am submitting this to the "Cook Like a Star" event (Nigella Lawson) event hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Anuja from Simple Baking. You can link at any one of the host's page.

*This recipe was featured on Fabulous Food Blog Recipes FB page on 29 Aug 2013.