United Cakedom: Millionaire Shortbread

This was my first time making Millionaire Shortbread and I would say it was a success!

Every time I'm at a coffee shop that has these in their display I have to have one! One of my favorite places to get a square of Millionaire Shortbread is from a cafe in Windsor called Cinnamon Cafe.

It also has the best Chai Tea Latte ever! Okay maybe not ever, but it's better then Starbucks and I love me a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks!

adapted from Home Bake by Eric Lanlard

Shortbread:

~ 175g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus a little extra for greasing

~ 250g plain flour

~ 85g caster sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 180*F (fan 160*C/350*F/gas mark 4)
Lightly grease your pan. Lanlard says to use a 33 x 22cm (13 x 9in) Swiss roll tin. I used my silicone (I hate it) 9x9 in pan because I don’t have the other size. To grease it I just use the butter package easy peasy!
Mix the flour and sugar together.
Rub in the butter (with your hands! I love this part) until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Knead the mixture until it looks like dough.
Press mixture into the prepared pan.
Prick the shortbread lightly with a fork.
Bake for about 20minutes or until firm to the touch and very lightly browned.
Cool in tin/pan whatever it is you used.

shortbread

Caramel:

~ 100g unsalted butter

~ 100g light muscovado sugar

~ 750g condensed milk

Put all the ingredients into a pan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved.
Bring to a boil, stirring all the time.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring continuously for about 5 minutes. Mixture should thicken slightly.
Pour over shortbread.

Note: I found this a little confusing. Low heat, high heat, low heat and so on. It’s what I did, but I burnt it. I think my pan was too thin. I knew it was burning because after a stir I had some flecks in the mixture. Those shouldn’t be there it should be smooth and clear. It was usable though because I noticed it. Still tastes good….pan may take a bit to clean out though!!

caramel layer

Chocolate:

~ 200g milk or dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Melt the chocolate
Pour over caramel covered shortbread

Note: Everyone has different ways of melting chocolate. I always tend to use a glass bowl in a pan of simmering water. Before the chocolate is fully melted I remove it from the heat letting the hot chocolate do the rest of the melting. Hope that makes sense. Some people use the microwave. Use whatever method works for you!!