Millionaire shortbread
A Scottish traybake of three layers whose commonest failure is undercooked caramel: it oozes out from under the chocolate at the first cut and the whole thing collapses. Condensed milk caramel must bubble, stirred constantly, until it darkens to toffee colour and pulls away from the base of the pan — usually 8–12 minutes. The other detail is scoring the chocolate before it fully sets — otherwise it shatters into a web when cut.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Base 35 min
- Caramel 25 min
- Setting the caramel 60 min
- Chocolate 15 min
- Scoring the chocolate 20 min
- Chilling 60 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake and press the shortbread base
Rub the cold butter into the flour with the sugar, cornflour and salt to crumbs and press firmly into a lined 20 by 30 cm tin, tamping with the base of a glass. The cornflour is there to keep the base short and sandy rather than hard.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 180 g butter · 75 g sugar · 30 g cornflour · ½ tsp salt
Tamped flat with a glass, evenly and firmly.Bake the base to pale gold
Bake 30–35 minutes at 170°C, until pale gold and dry. Cool completely before adding the caramel — a warm base absorbs it and the layers merge instead of staying distinct.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 180 g butter · 75 g sugar · 30 g cornflour · ½ tsp salt
Melt the caramel ingredients together
Put the butter, brown sugar, syrup, condensed milk and salt in a pan and heat gently until everything melts, stirring. Do not raise the heat before that — the sugar scorches on the base before the butter disperses.
Ingredients: 400 g sweetened condensed milk · 120 g butter · 100 g brown sugar · 3 tbsp golden syrup · ½ tsp salt
Cook the caramel until thick and darker
Raise to medium heat and cook 8–12 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the base. The caramel should darken to toffee colour, thicken noticeably and pull away from the base as the spoon passes. Only then will it set — undercooked, it stays soft and oozes out when cut.
Ingredients: 400 g sweetened condensed milk · 120 g butter · 100 g brown sugar · 3 tbsp golden syrup · ½ tsp salt
The spoon leaves a trail on the base — the caramel is ready.Pour the caramel and let it set
Pour the caramel over the cooled base, level it and leave an hour, until firm to the touch. Add the chocolate only once the caramel has set — on soft caramel the layers run together.
Ingredients: 400 g sweetened condensed milk · 120 g butter · 100 g brown sugar · 3 tbsp golden syrup · ½ tsp salt
Spread the chocolate and comb waves
Melt the chocolate, spread it over the caramel and drag a fork through it in waves. Scatter with sea salt flakes. The waves are not only decorative — an uneven surface cracks less than a flat sheet.
Ingredients: 250 g dark chocolate · 1 pinch sea salt
Waves combed with a fork — they crack less than a flat sheet.Score the chocolate before it hardens
Wait 20 minutes, until the chocolate is matt but still soft, and score it into squares with a sharp knife. Scored at that moment it will not crack later — fully hardened it shatters into a web.
Ingredients: 250 g dark chocolate · 1 pinch sea salt
Chill and finish cutting
Chill an hour, lift out by the paper and finish cutting with a warm knife, wiping the blade between cuts. A warm blade passes through the caramel without dragging it.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 180 g butter · 75 g sugar · 30 g cornflour · ½ tsp salt
Before you start
The dulce de leche shortcut
A tin of ready-made dulce de leche warmed with 60 g of butter and a pinch of salt gives a respectable caramel in five minutes. It is slightly sweeter and less buttery than the homemade version, but the gap is narrower than you would think.
When the caramel will not set
It was boiled too briefly. This is fixable: scrape the caramel back into the pan, cook another 5 minutes and pour it on again. The base survives the operation unharmed.
A week in a tin
The squares keep a week in an airtight box at room temperature. In the fridge the caramel sets very hard and the chocolate may develop a greyish bloom — better keep them somewhere cool, layered with paper.
