Marbled Millionaires Shortbread

As the summer term comes to an end in schools across the country, attention turns to the members of staff leaving for pastures new. We have two amazing ladies leaving us and so are holding a tea party to celebrate their many years of service - so of course I had to offer my baking services!

Tray bakes were the order of the day so after my successful banoffee pie I decided I would try another caramel-based adventure - marbled millionaires shortbread. Not ideal in this baking hot weather but a classic favourite and hopefully a safer bet than cupcakes (icing in this weather - not a good idea!)

I used a combination of a Nigella recipe from 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess' and a recipe from the Carnation website which you can find here. The Nigella recipe said to use a 23cm tin and the Carnation recipe a 20cm tin but I used a 21cm and it seemed to be ok.

They were a big hit - it's just a shame they didn't survive the weather particularly well - squidgy millionaires shortbread is never nice! If you're making them in our current heatwave make sure you keep them in your fridge.

Ingredients:

Shortbread:
225g plain flour
75g caster sugar
175g unsalted  butter

Caramel: 
150g butter
150g dark brown soft sugar (I still don't have any so used light brown)
397g can condensed sweetened milk

Chocolate topping:
200g milk chocolate
55g white chocolate

Method:
1) Preheat the oven 170C/Gas mark 3. Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and rub the butter into it, clumping the dough together to form a bowl. Press this mixture into a lined and greased 23cm brownie tin an smooth it with your hands or a spatula. Prick it with a fork and cook for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 150C/Gas mark 2, and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until it is pale golden and no longer doughy. Let it cool in the tin.

2) Once it is cooled you can make the caramel. Heat the sugar and butter in a non-stick pan gently, until melted. Add the condensed milk and bring to a rapid boil, stirring continuously. Remember to be patient at this point. Cook until it has thickened. Pour over the based and then cool and chill until set.
3) Melt the chocolate in separate bowls. Pour the milk chocolate over the caramel and then add spoonfuls of the melted white chocolate. Swirl together with a spoon for a marbled effect. (This is where I had some issues - it took me three attempts to melt my white chocolate by which time the milk chocolate had started to set so my marbling didn't really work.)

4) Once set, cut the shortbread into pieces - they can be kept in a fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (if they last that long!) Enjoy!