Michelle Darmody: How to bake Millionaire's Shortbread Squares — and the mistakes to avoid

The soft caramel layer can be the trickiest part to get right. 

A sugar thermometer helps to get the exact temperature, and this will also help you to get consistent results. 

You can buy a sugar thermometer from baking websites or in specialist shops. 

There is another way to test that your caramel is cooking correctly, and this soft ball method described below. 

It is an older way that has been used by confectionary makers for centuries. It is also helpful when making fudge. 

After you drop the spoon of caramel into the water as instructed it should become pliable and soft and be easily moulded between your fingers.

If you have any leftover condensed milk, it is delicious in coffee. A strong espresso poured over some condensed milk is a real treat.

Millionaire's Shortbread

By:michelle Recipe Darmody

Enduring Favourite, One To And Are Crisp, One Layers Contrasting Create Brought Together The Crumbly One Three Soft,

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 40 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 5 mins

Course

 Baking

ingredients

• 240g Flour Plain

• 75g Sugar Caster Golden

• Cubed Butter, Cold 175g

• for The Caramel:

• Butter 80g

• Muscovado 80g Light Sugar

• Milk 320g Condensed

• for The Chocolate:

• Dark Chips Chocolate 195g

• 5g Butter

method

1. Square With Baking Tins 8 Parchment Inch Two Line

2. Half Flour Like Fridge The And It Butter The Dough Breadcrumbs Press Sugar In Tin It It A Until Rough Into Hour An The Mix Rub The Looks Smooth Evening Until Throughout Bined And A Forms The Knead Least Into Dough And Place For At

3. In Bake Tin Golden Colour Preheat 4 Pletely Cool A The 180ºc/gas Minutes For The Until Light Base 25 Mark Oven It Your To And Allow Very To

4. Ensure Ingredients 116ºc The At Low Melted Lower And Then Until 113ºc About And Caramel Down Thermometer Boil Has Until Sugar For It A The Into To The Filling Heat Heat For The Gets Over Using The A Saucepan Based Back Stir Ten It Between A It Simmer A Bring Continuously Place Begins Place And To Heavy Sugar Minutes To Thicken All

5. It Over The It Fridge The Warm, To Aside Pour You The Help Can Out To Spatula And Firm Get A Out If Your Is It Caramel To To Saucepan Set Cool It Spread Of It Transfer The Kitchen Up Using All Shortbread

6. Bowl Hot Simmering Spread It Melt Chocolate And Over Into And With Scoop The Squares In Allow Saucepan Knife Up It A Firm Over Of Cut A A Caramel, Cooled Butter To The Water

Baker's tips

• If you are stuck for time, you can make the base of the in a similar way to a cheesecake base by crushing shortbread biscuits. Crush 250g of biscuits and stir in 100g of melted butter until the biscuit crumbs are coated. Press this down into the tin and bake for ten minutes before following the rest of the recipe.
• It is important to boil the caramel for long enough so that is gets to the soft ball stage. It is the trickiest part of this recipe and the most likely to go wrong. If your caramel does not set it will squish out when the slices are being cut and it will also stick to the baking parchment at each side. The caramel mixture needs to reach 113ºC on a sugar thermometer but if you do not have one of these to hand you can test your caramel using the soft ball method. Have a bowl of very cold water ready by your saucepan. Carefully drop some caramel into the bowl of water with a spoon. It should form a small ball in the water that you can press between your fingers.
• If you are using a bar of chocolate rather than chips it is best to break it as evenly as you can, so you do not have very large pieces that take a long time to melt while other little shards are getting burnt.
• Heat a knife in boiling water and use this to cut the slices. If the chocolate top is cracking, it’s a result of too much pressure being applied with the knife rather than the heat doing the work of melting through the chocolate layer.
• The Millionaire Shortbread Squares will last in an airtight container in a cool place for about a week. If your kitchen is very warm you can store them in the fridge, this may, however, discolour the chocolate layer slightly.
• The caramel does not take too kindly to being frozen and defrosted, you will probably end up with a sticky mess, so it is best not to freeze these squares.

3 delicious variations

Salted caramel squares

Add a few pinches of salt to the caramel towards the end of stirring and also sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the chocolate layer before it hardens.

Orange Zest Squares

Adding the zest of two large oranges to the caramel towards the end of stirring it changes the taste of the squares quite considerably. I also sprinkle some zest over the chocolate before it hardens.

Espresso Millionaire Shortbread

To make an espresso version of these squares you can use something called espresso powder. This can be also found on baking websites and in specialist baking shops. It has a more intense flavour than instant coffee and adds a richness to the caramel layer. Two tablespoons of the powder can be added to the caramel. You can add them when you are placing all of the ingredients into the saucepan at the beginning. The caramel is then made in the same way.