Sometimes when I'm going round the supermarket, I buy random ingredients, sub-consciously challenging myself to make something different. And that's how I came to have a tin of condensed milk in my Finchley Kitchen this week, and when a niece popped in too and we wanted to do some baking, I flicked through a Nigella book, came across a recipe for Millionaire's Shortbread that required condensed milk and... got baking.
I stuck to the recipe pretty faithfully, just swapped the dark chocolate coating for milk chocolate (because I'm a chocolate chav, opting for Dairy Milk over the posh stuff every time), and using a bit less chocolate as the original was too tough to cut. The end result was the perfect mix of sweet, crunchy, and delicious, but you can't overestimate just how sweet it is.. so cut the squares up small. I served it with Millionaire's Date Biscuits because you just can't eat enough millionaires in one place..
Ingredients
225g plain flour
75g caster sugar
375g unsalted butter
397g sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons golden syrup
250g plain or milk chocolate
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C, and rub together 175g of the butter, plus the flour and sugar in a bowl. Once it's in a ball, press it into a square tin (Nigella recommends 23cm), make sure it's flat and even, then prick with a fork and cook for five minutes. Then lower the oven to 150C and bake for half an hour or until pale gold-coloured and let cool in the tin.
Meanwhile, make the caramel. This magic happens in a microwave - be patient and cautious, and this works. First heat the remaining 200g butter in a Pryex-style bowl, for 2 mins, then add the condensed milk and golden syrup. Mix well, then heat for about 7 minutes BUT IN ONE MINUTE INCREMENTS - so after every minute you stop and stir to make sure it's not burning. The caramel is ready when it's thickened and golden brown. Pour over the cooled shortbread and leave to cool and set.
Once it has, melt the chocolate in the microwave and pour over the whole mixture. Now leave to set once more. Cut into squares once cooled - use a very sharp knife to avoid cracking. But if it does crack, don't worry.. it still tastes delicious.
75g caster sugar
375g unsalted butter
397g sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons golden syrup
250g plain or milk chocolate
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C, and rub together 175g of the butter, plus the flour and sugar in a bowl. Once it's in a ball, press it into a square tin (Nigella recommends 23cm), make sure it's flat and even, then prick with a fork and cook for five minutes. Then lower the oven to 150C and bake for half an hour or until pale gold-coloured and let cool in the tin.
Meanwhile, make the caramel. This magic happens in a microwave - be patient and cautious, and this works. First heat the remaining 200g butter in a Pryex-style bowl, for 2 mins, then add the condensed milk and golden syrup. Mix well, then heat for about 7 minutes BUT IN ONE MINUTE INCREMENTS - so after every minute you stop and stir to make sure it's not burning. The caramel is ready when it's thickened and golden brown. Pour over the cooled shortbread and leave to cool and set.
Once it has, melt the chocolate in the microwave and pour over the whole mixture. Now leave to set once more. Cut into squares once cooled - use a very sharp knife to avoid cracking. But if it does crack, don't worry.. it still tastes delicious.
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