With a buttery Scottish shortbread base, a luscious creamy caramel centre
and a marbled milk chocolate top, my Millionaire’s Shortbread delivers a delicious mouthful in every bite!
So I’m one of those weird people who can’t handle a regular caramel slice. I know, right? I have the sweetest tooth going around, yet I’ve never been able to cope with the overpowering sweetness of it. That is, until I met Millionaire’s Shortbread (well my version of it anyway). My Millionaire’s Shortbread is the perfect balance of textures and flavours. It has a base of traditional Scottish shortbread, a lovely and creamy caramel that is not over the top (yet incredibly delicious!) and a thin layer of beautiful quality milk and white chocolate.
TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD
I first came across Millionaire’s Shortbread in 2019 (have I been living under a rock?) when I was was in Edinburgh. We’d called into Social Bite, a local cafe that runs a homeless initiative program. Social Bite employs and trains homeless people to work in the hospitality industry. Such a fabulous idea….and they had the most delicious Millionaire’s Shortbread! And because a lot of my baking is inspired from my travels (and Scotland was so, so special, with my strong Scottish heritage), I have made my own Millionaire’s Shortbread. And it’s exactly the way I like it!
The Scottish Highlands -home of my ancestors, the Clan MacDonald
WHY I LOVE THIS IMPROVED CARAMEL SLICE
- The base is a traditional Scottish shortbread, with a perfectly buttery and crumbly texture.
- Even with that crumbly texture, it still cuts perfectly neat and doesn’t fall apart.
- A caramel centre that is easy to make, lovely and smooth and not sickly-sweet.
- It has a crisp, marbled chocolate top that looks as pretty as it is delicious.
- It’s super easy to make, with just 10 minutes prep time.
MY TIPS FOR MAKING THE PERFECT MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD
- Don’t overmix the shortbread base -stop as soon as it’s combined, to create that lovely, crumbly texture.
- You only need to bake the shortbread for 15 minutes. It will still be light, but it’ll bake a little more once the caramel goes on.
- When making the caramel, use a silicone spatula to stir the mixture. This will ensure you’re getting into the edges of the saucepan and you won’t end up with dark spots in your caramel.
- For a shiny, crisp chocolate top, make sure you use good quality chocolate that’s been melted properly and not overheated (see recipe).
HOW TO CUT PERFECT SQUARES
- To cut clean, perfect squares, use a large, hot knife. This is a knife that’s placed into hot water for a few seconds then wiped dry.
- Gently press the hot knife into the chocolate layer until you feel it cut through the chocolate. Wipe the knife and continue until you’ve cut squares into all of the chocolate.
- Now you can go back and cut through the rest of the layers, without cracking the top and smearing chocolate everywhere.
Millionaire's Shortbread
Ingredients
Shortbread Base
- 150 g Plain flour
- 130 g Unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 75 g Cornflour
- 75 g Caster sugar
Caramel Layer
- 395 g Sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 45 g Brown sugar
- 60 g Unsalted butter
Chocolate Top
- 200 g Milk chocolate best quality, chopped
- 50 g White chocolate best quality, chopped
Instructions
Shortbread Base
- Pre-heat the oven to 165°C (fan forced).
- Line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
- In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar to form a paste.
- Add the flour and cornflour, then mix on low until it just comes together. Do not overmix.
- Tip the dough into the prepared tin, then press down flat, spreading to the corners. You can use the back of a spoon to smooth the dough and straighten the edges.
- Bake for 15 mins, then remove from the oven to cool in the tin.
- Turn heat down to 140°C fan forced and make the caramel.
Caramel Layer
- Place the condensed milk, sugar and butter in a small saucepan and stir with a silicone spatula over low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Increase the heat a little and continue to quickly and carefully stir the caramel until it thickens and bubbles. This will take about 5 minutes. Be sure to stir into the edges of the saucepan to ensure the caramel doesn't stick and produce brown spots.
- Pour the caramel onto the partly cooled, cooked shortbread and bake for another 12 minutes. It will bubble as it bakes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Once cool enough to handle, you can place it in the fridge for an hour or two.
- Once chilled, you can top with the chocolate.
Chocolate Top
- Place the milk chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute. Stir well, then heat for 10 second bursts, until melted.
- In another microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate in 20 second, then 10 second bursts (it burns easily!)
- Pour the melted milk chocolate onto the caramel layer, then drizzle over the melted white chocolate. Use a skewer to swirl the white chocolate through, creating a marbled effect.
- Chill until set, then carefully cut with a hot knife. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
As always, if you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please let me know by either commenting or rating my Millionaire’s Shortbread.
And for more beautifully textured cookies and bars, check out
Classic Melting Moments for a seriously melt-in-the-mouth sandwich cookie
Hawaiian Shortbread for a tropical twist
Pecan Sandies for a nuttier texture, but seriously good cookie
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Bars for an added hit of chocolate!
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