Scottish millionaire’s caramel shortbread

When in Scotland do what Scottish people do – drink whisky and eat the best Scottish millionaire’s caramel shortbread 🙂 This is a classic recipe for indulgent, rich and the best  Scottish sweet treat.

I mentioned before that this dessert would not be my first choice, but my husband loves it very much. He asks me to make it at least once a month and I never say no. Hope you will make my recipe and that you will love it as well.

I shared recipe for no-bake Scottish millionaire’s caramel slice some time ago and all my readers loved it. The difference between these two recipes is the base. No-bake version has a base made with biscuits and butter. This version is the proper and original version with baked shortbread as a base. Let me know in the comments which recipe do you prefer.

How to make Scottish millionaire’s caramel shortbread

First make a shortbread layer by mixing butter, sugar, rice flour and AP flour until dough formed. Then spread the dough in a square baking tin and bake for 30 min in a pre-heated oven. Once ready, remove baking tray from your oven and let it cool.

Caramel layer: When making caramel layer, make sure you have all the ingredients ready. This caramel is based on condensed milk so it is not very technical, but you need to remember few things:

1. Cook caramel on a medium heat and then after 10 minutes on a low heat.
2. You have to stir caramel constantly, otherwise it will burn. The best utensil to use for stirring is a spatula with a square finish. It will reach the bottom of the pot perfectly and prevent burning.
3. Use bigger pot for making caramel. The ingredients will bubble a lot.
4. Making caramel takes time as sugar needs to come to a high temperature to thicken. It should reach a soft ball stage , which is 112-116C degrees. I recommend investing in a good kitchen thermometer. If you do not have a thermometer, you have to watch your caramel. When caramel thickens, the bubbles will become bigger. You will notice that it will start to coat your spatula. This is the sign that caramel is ready. It usually takes me 15 minutes to make this caramel. Please notice that if you cook your caramel too long, it will become hard.
5. I received a comment from one of my readers that caramel did not set. The main reason for caramel not setting is that it was not cooked long enough for mixture to thicken. I can not highlight this enough – cook your caramel for at least 15 minutes until it thickens.

Chocolate layer: In fact this is a chocolate ganache layer. I think that this wonderful Scottish millionaire’s caramel shortbread tastes better when it has a softer chocolate bite. The only thing you have to do is to warm up cream and mix it with a finely chopped chocolate until smooth and glossy.

Now, the last task is to pour caramel on the shortbread layer and then add chocolate ganache. Of course, you should let your caramel cool down before pouring it in into the baking tin.

When chocolate ganache cools down, place the dessert in a fridge. It needs time to set. I would recommend at least 5 hours, ideally overnight.

What does Scottish millionaire’s caramel shortbread taste like?

This dessert tastes divine. The shortbread layer is crumbly and soft, the caramel layer is rich, gooey and indulgent. The chocolate ganache is irresistibly smooth and creamy. I added a sprinkle of sea salt on top and it complimented the whole dessert beautifully.

How to store Scottish millionaire’s caramel shortbread

Store your caramel shortbread in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.

If you are looking for more shortbread-like recipes, I can recommend you the following:

Millionaire’s caramel gingerbread

Click this link if you want to see all my shortbread-like recipes

I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.

Recipe source –my own

Cheers!

Scottish millionaire’s caramel shortbread

A real Scottish treat , Millionaire's caramel shortbread. A layer of crumbly shortbread, indulgent caramel and silk chocolate ganache.

Author: Anna K Cooking Method: Baking Cuisine: Scottish Courses: Dessert, Snack Recipe Keys: Easy Freezer friendly Vegetarian Wow

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Prep Time 40 mins Rest Time 180 mins Total Time 3 hrs 40 mins Difficulty: Intermediate Cooking Temp: 170  °C Servings: 20 Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Ingredients

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Servings

Biscuit layer

• 250 g AP flour
• 200 g butter (room temperature, salted or unsalted, if you are using unsalted butter add 1/4 tsp of a table salt)

• 30 g rice flour (if you do not have rice flour, you can grind white rice until it turns into a powder, rice flour makes shortbread nice and crumbly)

• 100 g caster sugar (you can also use white granulated sugar, I used caster as it dissolves quicker)

Caramel layer

• 100 ml double cream
• 397 g condensed milk (one can)
• 150 g brown sugar (soft, dark)
• 150 g butter (salted or unsalted, if you are using unsalted butter add 1/4 tsp of a table salt)

Chocolate layer

• 300 g milk chocolate (finely chopped)
• 100 ml double cream

• sea salt (to sprinkle on top (optional))

Instructions

Making shortbread layer

1. Prepare a cake tin 20cm x 20cm or 8 inches  (I used square). Grease it and line it with baking paper.

2. In a medium bowl cream butter for 2 minutes then add sugar, rice flour and AP flour.

3. Mix the dough until it all comes together.

4. Spoon the dough into the baking tin, spread it and press evenly.

5. Preheat your oven to 170 C fan and bake shortbread for about 30 minutes.

6. When shortbread is ready, remove it from your oven and let it cool.

Making caramel layer

1. Add all the ingredients into a medium size pot and using a square spatula, mix all the ingredients well.  Cook it on a medium flame. Stir constantly making sure that you reach edges of the pot as well to avoid burning.

2. You should be stirring for about 15-20 minutes min until the mixture starts to thicken. Please be aware that caramel is VERY hot and under no condition you should taste it while it is hot! It needs a lot of time to cool down. Caramel will get thicker and you will notice that bubbles will get bigger as well. You should be aiming to cook your caramel to a soft ball stage 112C - 116C degrees. Please remember if you cook your caramel for too long it will get hard.

3. When caramel is ready, let it cool in the pot and after about 15 min pour it over the shortbread base. Spread with spatula if necessary. Let it cool at room temperature and transfer to a fridge.

Making chocolate ganache layer

1. Chop chocolate into fine pieces and transfer it to a medium bowl.

2. In a small pot heat up the cream until it is just about to boil. Do not boil! Pour it over chopped chocolate. Stir very thoroughly. In this step you need to stir, stir, stir and be patient as you do not want to end up with lumps.

3. When chocolate is ready, let it cool for 10 minutes and then pour it over cooled caramel and spread all over. Let it cool in room temperature and transfer the tin to the fridge for at least 5 hours, ideally overnight.

4. When cooled enough, remove from the tin and cut as you wish.

Keywords: cookies, caramel, Christmas cookies, Christmas

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