Millionaire’s shortbread with salted caramel

I’ve tried a lot of good shop-bought millionaire’s shortbread but it’s even better when you make it yourself, as you can choose your own chocolate and cut it into the size of pieces you want. If you have patience and leave it to set then it’ll melt in the mouth. I’ve updated this childhood favourite by adding salt to the caramel and a topping of macadamia nuts.

Credit: Bloomsbury

• makes

  14

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

For the base

• 150 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 75 g caster sugar
• 175 g plain flour
• A pinch of fine salt
• 25 g fine semolina or ground rice

For the salted caramel filling

• 120 g condensed milk
• 60 g golden syrup
• 150 g unsalted butter
• 150 g soft light brown sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes

For the topping

• 200 g dark chocolate (I use chocolate with 40% cocoa solids, like Bourneville)
• 50 g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

Cooling time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 150°C/Gas 2. Grease a shallow 27 cm x 18cm baking tin and line it with baking parchment.
2. To make the base, in a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the flour, salt and semolina or ground rice and mix with a spoon and then your hands to form a smooth dough; try not to overwork it.
3. Press the mixture into the prepared tin and prick the surface all over with a fork. Bake for 35–40 minutes until pale but cooked through.
4. For the salted caramel filling, weigh all the ingredients except the salt into a pan. Melt over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, and then bring to the boil. As it boils, keep stirring – the caramel bubbles will become larger and the mixture will thicken and turn a rich, glossy caramel colour.
5. Pour the caramel evenly over the shortbread, sprinkle on the sea salt flakes and leave to cool and set.
6. For the topping, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
7. Pour the melted chocolate over the caramel layer so it is completely covered, spread to level and smooth the surface with a palette knife. Scatter over the macadamia nuts. Leave to set completely then cut into bars.

 

Extract from A Baker's Life by Paul Hollywood (Bloomsbury, $39.99).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.