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Millonaire's Shortbread

A British classic traybake, so easy & perfect for bakesales! Made with tinned carnation caramel (dulce de leche) or sweetened condensed milk on a crumbly shortbread base with a snappy dark chocolate topping.
Course Baking Basics
Cuisine British
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 16 squares
Author Izy Hossack

Ingredients

Shortbread:

  • 50 g (1/2 cup) ground almonds
  • 60 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
  • 200 g (1 2/3 cup) plain white flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 150 g (1/2 cup + 3 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold, cubed

Caramel:

  • 1 (397g/14 ounce) tin carnation caramel (dulce de leche) OR sweetened condensed milk
  • 100 g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter
  • 100 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt

Chocolate:

  • 150 g (5.3 ounces) dark chocolate, broken into chunks I like 70% cocoa content
  • 50 g (1.8 ounces) white chocolate, broken into chunks

Instructions

For the shortbread:

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Line an 8- or 9-inch square baking tin with a sling of baking paper.
  • In a large bowl place all of the shortbread ingredients. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingertips until crumbly. Knead a few times in the bowl to form a cohesive dough.
    50 g (1/2 cup) ground almonds, 60 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar, 200 g (1 2/3 cup) plain white flour, pinch of salt, 150 g (1/2 cup + 3 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • Crumble up the dough into the lined tin. Use your hands to flatten into an even layer then use the back of a spoon to smooth out.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top.

For the caramel:

  • Place the caramel (or dulce de leche or sweetened condensed milk) into a medium pot with the butter, sugar and salt.
    1 (397g/14 ounce) tin carnation caramel (dulce de leche), 100 g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, 100 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar, pinch of salt
  • Heat on medium, stirring often, until the butter has melted. Turn the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring often, for 7-10 minutes until the caramel has thickened and darkened. You want the temperature to be at 114°C for the caramel to set properly (NB: if using sweetened condensed milk here, it may be necessary to cook for slightly longer to get it to the right colour. You will also have to watch the caramel more closely & stir more often as it is more likely to catch and burn).
  • Pour the hot caramel over the baked shortbread and spread out into an even layer (an offset spatula works well but you can also use the back of a spoon). Chill for 10 minutes so the caramel can firm up as you prep the chocolate.

For the chocolate top:

  • Place the dark chocolate and white chocolate into two separate, heatproof bowls. Place each bowl over a pan of simmering water on the stove, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted and then remove the bowls from the pans of water.
    150 g (5.3 ounces) dark chocolate, broken into chunks, 50 g (1.8 ounces) white chocolate, broken into chunks
  • Pour most of the melted dark chocolate over the cooled caramel. Spread out into an even layer and then rap the whole tray against the work surface a few times to help the chocolate settle into a smooth layer.
  • Dollops random blobs and swirls of white chocolate over the dark chocolate. Dollop the remaining dark chocolate on top in random spots. Rap the whole tray against the work surface again a few times to help the chocolate settle. Use a toothpick to swirl the dark and white chocolate together to create a marbled pattern.
  • Chill for 10-20 minutes until set.

Remove from tin & cut:

  • To remove from the tin you can either use a kitchen blowtorch to briefly warm the edges of the tin (only if the tin is metal!) which will help melt the chocolate and caramel at the very edges so you can lift out the whole thing with the sling. The other method is to dip a butter knife into boiling water, wipe it dry, then run it around the inside edge of the tin to release the chocolate from the edge of the tin.
  • Cut into 16 squares using a hot knife (warmed either by running a blowtorch over the blade or by dipping the blade into boiling water & wiping dry) making sure you clean the blade between cuts for the neatest edges.
  • Store cut bars in an airtight container. I recommend keeping them in the fridge (especially if your kitchen is warm!) for up to 1 week. They're delicious cold from the fridge or at room temp.