Millionaire's Shortbread

My husband flew back to England the other day, and I wanted to greet him with some sweet treats at the airport. His favourite dessert aside from sticky toffee pudding is Millionaire's Shortbread. In the States, we don't have this delicious treat (or at least I've never seen it), so I have never made it before.

For everyone who may not have seen it before (like me), it's basically a shortbread base with a caramel centre, topped in milk chocolate, and it's all delicious. Whoever put these things together in an easy-to-carry bar is an absolute genius.

It's actually pretty easy to make, if you want to store the slices in the fridge. However, if you want to store your shortbread squares at room temperature, you will need to temper the chocolate. I've included the directions below, but if you can't be bothered, absolutely just melt the chocolate over a double boiler and pour over the cooled caramel.

Another quick tip about the chocolate--in order to get neat squares without the chocolate cracking, make sure to score it before it sets all the way (pictured above), regardless of whether you're tempering or not.

Millionaire's Shortbread
Time: 2 hours

Shortbread base:
100g unsalted butter, softened
50g caster sugar (extra-fine sugar)
140g plain flour
20g corn starch

Butter an 8 inch square baking pan and line with baking paper with a little overhang so the finished squares are easy to lift out.

Mix the butter and sugar together until well incorporated. Sift in the flours and mix until fully combined. Press into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 170ºC. When the shortbread is ready, bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.

Caramel layer:
150g butter
150g sugar (I used golden caster for a different flavour, but you can use plain caster sugar or light brown sugar here)
397g tin of condensed milk

Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over low, stirring gently until melted. When the sugar is melted, add the condensed milk and increase heat to medium to bring the mixture to a rapid boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is a nice caramel colour and has thickened. Pour over the completely cooled shortbread. Cool the caramel entirely in the fridge.

Chocolate Layer:
200g milk chocolate (make sure the ingredients say it was made with cocoa butter and not another type of oil or fat)

If you want to store the shortbread in the fridge, you can use whatever chocolate you want and do not need to temper it. Just melt the chocolate gently in a heatproof bowl that is set over (but not touching) barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Pour over the cooled caramel, and refrigerate. After 5 minutes or so when the chocolate is still soft, take out of the fridge and score with a sharp knife in squares so the chocolate won't crack when you cut it. Store in the fridge.

If you want to keep you shortbread at room temperature or plan on travelling any distance with them, you will need to temper your chocolate and will need a candy thermometer. Chop all of your chocolate and set aside 1/4 of it in a bowl. Place the remaining 3/4 into a heatproof bowl, and set over (but not touching) barely simmering water. Stir constantly, and melt until the temperature of your chocolate is 38ºC/100ºF.

Remove bowl from heat immediately, and stir in the remaining 1/4 of the chocolate to melt it. Keep stirring and cool the chocolate to 28ºC/84ºF. Place the bowl VERY BRIEFLY back over the barely simmering water until it reaches 30ºC/86ºF. Pour chocolate over the cooled caramel.

The chocolate will start to set immediately. When it is partially set, score the chocolate into squares so it won't crack when you cut it. Let the chocolate cool completely, cut into squares, and store at room temperature.