Millionaires Shortbread
Time: 1 hour plus setting
Serves: 9 -16
INGREDIENTS
For the shortbread
180g Plain flour
20g Cornflour
70g Caster sugar
150g Salted butter - cubed
For the Caramel
75g Salted butter
300ml Double Cream
125g Soft brown sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Salt to taste
For the Chocolate layer
200g Dark chocolate
1tbs Vegetable oil
50g White chocolate
An 8 x 8” tin or one of similar proportions eg 9” x 7” Lined
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160C Fan 180C conventional
Place flour, cornflour and sugar into a bowl and stir to combine.
Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs with no lumps of butter.
Press the mixture into the prepared tin so that you have a flat even surface. Prick all over with a fork and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden and firm to touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
While the shortbread base is in the oven start the caramel. Place the butter, double cream and soft brown sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar and butter have dissolved. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes stirring frequently taking care that the caramel doesn’t begin to catch on the bottom of the saucepan.
Add vanilla and salt to taste
Pour the caramel over the shortbread base and place in the fridge to cool.
Now prepare the chocolate layer. Place the dark chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water taking care not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Stir frequently until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy.
Remove the shortbread from the fridge and pour over the chocolate, jiggle the pan to get an even surface.
Gently heat the white chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water. You can melt the chocolate in the microwave but take care to do it gently and gradually as white chocolate burns very easily.
You can drizzle the white chocolate over the dark chocolate layer or if you would like a feathered pattern place the melted chocolate in a piping bag with a very small hole, pipe stipes about an inch apart, drag a cocktail stick across the stripes alternating direction to get a feathered pattern.
Place the shortbread into the fridge.
After about an hour score the chocolate layer into 16 or 9 even squares depending on how large a portion you would like to have, by pre-scoring the chocolate it will stop the layer cracking when you cut the shortbread later once it has set.
Place in the fridge and Leave for 2 – 3 hours until the caramel is set. Cut into squares