Good enough to eat

Millionaire shortbread...how decadent!

It's been a very foggy day so far and it doesn't look as if the sun will come out today.  The dog decided that the best way to deal with this type of weather is to go to sleep...he's only just waking up now after a 90 minute nap :-)  Whilst he was snoozing, I managed to prepare dinner and also finish off decorating the millionaire shortbread ( = caramel shortbread) I made last night.  I thought it wasn't going to come out right but it did in the end.  Sometimes I think we strive for perfection when what we do is already good enough.



My recipe comes from a book called "Farmhouse Kitchen" which was published in the early '80s by Yorkshire Television.  Since I don't want to breach their copyright rules, I can't publish that particular recipe but found a similar one which was freely available:

Ingredients (for 24 squares) - please note that I usually make half the amount and cut smaller pieces as these are quite rich

For the shortbread:

• 250g plain flour
• 75g caster sugar
• 175g butter, softened

For the caramel:

• 100g butter or margarine
• 100g light muscavado sugar
• 2 x 397g cans condensed milk

  For the topping:

• 200g plain or milk chocolate, broken into pieces

 Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180'C/Gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 13 x 9inch (33x23cm) Swiss roll tin.
2. To make the shortbread, mix the flour and caster sugar in a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Knead the mixture together until it forms a dough, then press into the base of the prepared tin. Prick the shortbread lightly with a fork and bake in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes or until firm to the touch and very lightly browned. Cool in the tin.
3. To make the caramel, measure the butter, sugar and condensed milk into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently, stirring continuously, for about 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened slightly. Pour over the shortbread and leave to cool.
4. For the topping, melt the chocolate slowly in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Pour over the cold caramel and leave to set. Cut into squares or bars.

 (source:  BBC Good Food website but "Farmhouse Kitchen Book 3" is what I used to create the shortbread shown in the picture)