This recipe is strictly for those with a sweet tooth, or two. Any shortbread is nice but add a thick layer of caramel and then another, of chocolate, and you have a rich, sweet variant. It is the sort of thing that you don’t want a large portion of, or you will feel decidedly sick quite soon.
The recipe I used was from BBC Food and was really quite easy to follow. There are not a whole load of ingredients, and just a few steps too. It might take a while to make but the result is well worth it.
Just a note about the recipe, it says to stir the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup mixture until it thickens, and turns a nice caramel colour. Well deciding at what point the mixture is thick enough is a matter of fine judgement. I think I could possibly have allowed mine to thicken slightly more, but only very slightly.
The other consideration is the chocolate to use. I used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, as I judged that all dark chocolate might have been too bitter for this particular confection. I used about 2 to 1 dark to milk chocolate. Others may wish to vary the ratio, it is all a matter of taste, and understanding who will be eating it.
- 225g/8oz plain flour
- 175g/6oz unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 75g/2¾oz caster sugar
- 150g/5oz butter
- 1 x 397g can condensed milk
- 100g/3½oz golden syrup
- 350g/12oz dark chocolate, or a mixture of dark and milk, chopped into small pieces
- Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Line a 23cm/9in square cake tin with baking parchment.
- Combine the flour and butter cubes in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (Alternatively, you can rub the butter in by hand.)
- Add in the caster sugar and pulse again until combined.
- Tip the mixture into the lined cake tin and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon. Then press the shortbread down firmly with your knuckles so that it is tightly packed in the tin.
- Bake the shortbread for 30 minutes or until very light golden brown. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, for the topping, heat the butter, condensed milk and golden syrup in a saucepan, stirring occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Increase the heat and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring frequently. The caramel will thicken and turn golden-brown. Set aside to cool slightly, then pour over the cooled shortbread. Allow to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (ensure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water), stirring occasionally.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the caramel and set aside until the chocolate has cooled completely.