Millionaire's Shortbread recipe

I was very pleased to see that the theme for this week's Great British Bake Off included traybakes, as I have been hoarding a recipe for Millionaire's Shortbread for some time, and this is the perfect opportunity to try it out. The recipe comes from my Mum, and her Millionaire's Shortbread is wonderful!

This bake was not entirely successful. Well, the final result was delicious, but the presentation did leave a little to be desired. I suspect that I didn't cook the filling for long enough, meaning that it was rather runny and it didn't set very well. I managed some half decent photographs, but this was definitely a treat which was best enjoyed using a spoon.

I've reproduced the recipe below. It's probably best not to pay too much attention to what you are actually putting in, otherwise you will soon realise that each mouthful contains about half your daily recommended calorie intake!

You need to work in stages for this recipe, and allow each part to cool before you move onto the next.

Shortbread base:

125g butter or margarine
60g caster sugar
175g plain flour

Mix the ingredients to a dough and press into a tray approx 28cm x 21cm x 5 cm (it's important to use a fairly deep tray). Bake at 180C for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Filling:

250g butter
125g caster sugar
4 level tablespoons syrup
Small can of condensed milk (approx 400g)

Measure the ingredients into a deep bowl. Cook in the microwave on medium for 3 minutes, stir, then cook on medium for 9-10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Leave to cool for 2 minutes, then beat well and spread over the shortbread base. If you don't have a microwave, you can put the ingredients into a saucepan, boil, reduce the heat then simmer with stirring for 8-10 minutes. Again, leave to cool for 2 minutes before pouring out over the base.

Topping:

250g plain chocolate
15g butter

Place the ingredients in a bowl in the microwave until fully melted, I usually melt in bursts of about 20 seconds then remove to stir. Spread the melted chcolate over the top of the caramel. When the chocolate is set, mark out into fingers with a knife before placing into the fridge to cool.

I'm linking up again with the Great Bloggers Bake Off, hosted by The Crazy Kitchen and Mummy Mishaps and looking forward to seeing everyone else's bakes!