Battenberg Millionaire Shortbread
This Battenberg Millionaire Shortbread has an almond shortbread base, homemade caramel and is topped with coloured white chocolate and Battenberg slices.
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Battenberg Millionaire Shortbread
One of my favourite things is putting a twist on a classic bake. Turning Battenberg into a Millionaire Shortbread is one of my favourite combinations so far.
Battenberg is a traditional, rectangular-shaped cake with two layers of pink sponge and two layers of yellow sponge cake wrapped in marzipan. It is utterly delicious and one of my favourite sweet treats, as is Millionaire Shortbread. So, Battenberg Millionaire Shortbread just seemed like a winning combination.
Almond Shortbread
The base of every Millionaire Shortbread is, of course, the shortbread. Shortbread is such a quick and easy thing to make and only takes four ingredients. Flour, Butter, Sugar and Almonds.
The flour in shortbread needs to be plain. We don’t want the shortbread to rise in the oven, so we don’t need to use any raising agents.
I also used unsalted butter in this recipe. Unsalted butter or a baking spread will work perfectly, though, depending on personal preference.
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The butter and sugar should be mixed until creamy before the flour is added to form a dough.
I also added ground and flaked almonds because I wanted a strong almond flavour from the shortbread. You can use one or the other, it is completely up to you. Also, a teaspoon of almond extract would work perfectly in this recipe.
If you want to use only ground almonds, remove up to 75g of the plain flour and replace it with the ground almonds.
Caramel
When it comes to millionaire shortbread, you MUST make your own caramel. It can be quite intimidating if you have never made your own before, but trust me, it isn’t as scary as you think.
If you were to use a pre-made shop-bought caramel like Carnations, it won’t work. It will be far too sweet for the shortbread and completely take over the flavour. It is also too soft. So, once you add the chocolate to the top and try to cut the shortbread, the caramel will all splodge out of the sides.
The homemade caramel recipe is made up of only four ingredients. Butter, sugar, condensed milk and golden syrup.
All the ingredients need to be added to a saucepan on a low heat. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar has completely dissolved. You will know the sugar has dissolved because the bottom of the pot won’t feel grainy as you mix the mixture.
Once the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, you can turn the heat up slightly and continue to stir the mixture. The one thing about making your own caramel is that you need to keep stirring it until it is ready. If you stop for even a minute, you risk the caramel burning.
You will know the caramel has burnt because you will end up with brown or black flecks through your caramel. Don’t worry if there are just a couple of flecks; you can either just leave it as it is, or you can pass the caramel through a sieve before adding it on top of your shortbread.
White Chocolate
I went with a white chocolate topping because I wanted to colour it pink and yellow, like a classic Battenberg. You can use milk or dark chocolate, though, if you prefer.
I melted the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave before splitting it in half between two bowls. To one bowl I added my pink food colouring and to the other I added yellow food colouring.
You only need a teeny tiny amount of food colouring to colour the chocolate. I recommend only adding a few drops to each bowl to begin with, and if you need more, build the colour up gradually. If you add too much food colouring to begin with, then you won’t be able to remove it.
I swirled the two chocolates together on top of the caramel. You could do this by using a spoon and alternating the colours, or by pouring both over the caramel and using a skewer or knife to swirl the two of them together.
Food Colouring
When it comes to colouring chocolate, you need to use an oil or gel-based food colouring. This is because any water in the food colouring will cause the chocolate to split.
For this recipe, I used Colour Splash Pink Food Colouring and Sunflower Yellow Food Colouring. Of course, the shades and colours of food colouring you use are completely up to you, but any shade of pink and yellow food colouring will, of course, work perfectly.
Alternatives
I used ground and flaked almonds in the shortbread base, but you can use just one of these if you prefer.
You could also leave out the ground and flaked almonds completely and use 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
You could also swap the white chocolate for milk or dark if you prefer.
Equipment
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Battenberg Millionaire Shortbread
Ingredients
For the Almond Shortbread
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 200 g Unsalted Butter
- 250 g Plain Flour
- 50 g Ground Almonds
- 50 g Flaked Almonds
For the Caramel
- 397 ml Condensed Milk
- 50 g Light Brown Sugar
- 75 ml Golden Syrup
- 225 g Unsalted Butter
For the Topping
- 400 g White Chocolate
- Mini Battenbergs
- Pink Food Colouring
- Yellow Food Colouring
Instructions
To Make the Almond Shortbread
- Line a 9” square cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan).
- Add the sugar, flour, butter, ground and flaked almonds to a large bowl and mix until a dough is formed.
- Press the dough into the bottom of your lined tin until it is flat and even.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to one side.
To Make the Caramel
- To make the caramel put the condensed milk, sugar, golden syrup, and butter into a large pan over a low heat.
- Stir continually until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Turn the heat up to medium and boil until the caramel has thickened and darkened in colour. Stir continuously to ensure the caramel doesn’t burn.
- It should take between 4-6 minutes until the caramel is nice and thick pour it over the top of your shortbread biscuit. Leave to set in the fridge.
Chocolate Topping and Decoration
- Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl and melt in 20-second bursts stirring in between until it is smooth and completely melted.
- Split the melted chocolate into two bowls and to one bowl add your pink food colouring, add yellow to the other bowl.
- Pour both chocolates over the top of your caramel, using a skewer, swirl the two colours together.
- Cut the mini battenbergs into individual slices and use them to decorate the top of the millionaire shortbread.
- Put it back into the fridge until the chocolate has set. Once the chocolate has set, remove it from the tin and cut it into individual slices. Enjoy!
Notes
- This Battenberg Millionaire Shortbread will last up to 7 days either in an airtight container or in the fridge.
- It will also last up to 3 months in the freezer.
- I used this Pink Food Colouring and this Yellow Food Colouring
- I used ground and flaked almonds in the shortbread base, but you can use just one of these if you prefer.
- You could also leave out the ground and flaked almonds completely and use 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
- If you find that your chocolate cracks when you cut your millionaire shortbread into portions, you can add 1 teaspoon of vegetable or sunflower oil to your chocolate. This will stop it from setting completely solid and make it easier to cut. You can also remove the millionaire shortbread from the fridge and leave it on the side for half an hour or so for it to come to room temperature before cutting it.