Thursday 1 November 2012

Bake of the Month - October - Millionaires Shortbread



I absolutely LOVE millionaires shortbread. Problem is it’s the most calorific thing you can eat and has no ‘goodness’ in whatsoever. So, as a breastfeeding mother I have the perfect excuse. I need around an extra 500 calories a day and, as my son is a big old baby (8lb 7oz at birth, weighing in at 10lb at just over three weeks old) I say ‘bring on the tasty treats’.  Oh, and they’re still good for those of you who aren’t breastfeeding, you just might have to substitute a piece for say, an entire meal.

Ingredients:

For the base:
200g butter
200g digestive biscuits

For the caramel:
150g butter
150g light soft brown sugar
1 tin (397g) of condensed milk

For the topping:
Either 2 or 3 100g bars of chocolate (depending on how much chocolate topping you want!) one or two of dark and one of milk

Method:
Line a square tin with baking parchment. It’s a good idea to have the parchment coming up over the sides so you can lift it all out and cut into pieces when it’s done.
Melt the butter and whiz the biscuits in a food processor. Add melted butter and whisk again. Press evenly into your tin and set aside.

To make the caramel melt the butter and add the sugar, stir to combine making sure the sugar has melted into the butter. Add the condensed milk and bring to the boil, then simmer for 6-7 minutes, stirring all the time until thickened. If you get those horrid brown flecks from the bottom of the pan just sieve them out when your pour the caramel over the biscuit base. Chill for an hour.

Melt the chocolate together and pour over your caramel layer and chill again until set (about 4-5 hours). You can decorate how you please. I used gold lustre, dusting it on with a pastry brush. Or you could sprinkle with nuts while the chocolate is still soft, or melt white chocolate separately and pour on after the milk and dark, swirling it around to make a pattern. Or don’t do anything at all. It will still taste incredibly good, and will still be very bad for you!