Otherwise known as Millionaires Shortbread, this recipe has a shortbread biscuit base, caramel centre and chocolate topping. The original recipe for this came from a lovely little teashop on the shore of Loch Etive. Unfortunately the old teashop is no more, but instead is a holiday home for tourists to the west coast of Scotland. The tea shop used to sell a little recipe book which my mum has kept for about 25years because this particular caramel shortbread recipe was a favourite of the family. My mum still makes the original recipe for the Taynuilt Highland Games where it sells out every year.
The new dairy free version was a bit of a challenge. It took me a lot of research but I finally made a breakthrough when I discovered cream of coconut. Not to be confused with coconut cream; cream of coconut is most often used to make Pina Colada Cocktails, but is a coconut alternative to condensed milk. Most dairy free caramels take a long time to make; this on the other hand is very quick and relatively easy.
Ingredients
Biscuit base:
6oz plain flour
4oz hard dairy free margarine (i.e. stork)
2oz caster sugar
Caramel:
4oz stork
2 tbsp golden syrup
2oz caster sugar
7oz cream of coconut
Topping:
200g chocolate
I recommend a dark chocolate as the coconut can make the caramel slightly sweeter than normal, but it is entirely your own choice. I am using Tesco ivory coast 70% dark chocolate as it is dairy and soya free and only £1 a bar.
Method
For the biscuit base:
Rub all the ingredients together to form a sticky crumb.
Pour the mixture onto a baking tray and push down till you have filled every gap and the dough is an even thickness all over. Put small holes in the biscuit using a fork.
Bake in the oven at 160⁰C for 25-30 mins until it is golden brown all over.
Although this is the same recipe as the basic biscuits, the lower temperature and longer cooking time will give you a shorter, more crumbly shortbread, perfect for this recipe.
For the caramel topping:
Put all the caramel ingredients into a large pan. You will be boiling the sugars so you need plenty of room for it to bubble up.
Heat slowly at first until all the sugar has dissolved and the butter is melted. You will know this has happened as it will no longer feel grainy or gritty when stirring. If you heat too fast and the sugar hasn’t dissolved properly, the sugar can burn and you will get a nasty taste.
Once the mixture is smooth and all the sugar dissolved, whack up the heat till it starts to boil. NEVER STOP STIRRING!
Once it is boiling, keep stirring and time carefully for 4mins of boiling time.
Once the 4mins is up, remove from the heat and allow to cool in the pan for about a minute, before pouring it on top of the shortbread base.
Leave for at least 30mins to cool and set before attempting to put any chocolate on the top.
For the topping:
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over some boiling water till smooth.
Pour the chocolate over the cooled caramel and leave in a cool place to set.
Once set I usually cut into 15 slices, and serve
This is a very indulgent recipe so I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. When storing be careful to leave in a cool place so the caramel doesn’t become too soft.
If you feel the caramel is a little too runny, you can slightly adjust the boiling time, however, the first time I made it I boiled it for 5mins and it came out too solid. Also the longer you boil it, the more the coconut flavour and sweetness appears so don’t overdo it.