Vegan Millionaire's Shortbread
Vegan millionaire's shortbread - buttery shortbread, chewy caramel and dark chocolate. All dairy free and made without condensed milk, with two different options for the caramel.
Servings 16 squares
Equipment
- candy or probe thermometer
- 23 cm (9 in) square cake tin
Ingredients
Shortbread:
- 190 g (¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter slightly softened
- 80 g (6 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 50 g (7 Tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 225 g (1 + ¾ cups + 1 Tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour
Caramel Option 1:*
- 250 g (1 ¼ cups) light brown soft sugar
- 150 g (7 ½ Tablespoons) golden syrup
- 150 g (⅔ cup) vegan block butter
- 150 ml (½ cup + 2 Tablespoons) vegan double cream (I use Elmlea)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Caramel Option 2:*
- 120 ml (½ cup) vegan double cream (I use Elmlea)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 215 g (1 cup + 1 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
- 60 ml (¼ cup) water
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan block butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Topping:
- 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate finely chopped
- 15 g (1 rounded Tablespoon) coconut oil
Instructions
Shortbread:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a 23 cm / 9 inch square cake tin with baking parchment, making sure that you leave some overhanging so that you can easily lift the baked bars out of the tin.
- Start by making the shortbread. Cream together the softened vegan butter, caster sugar, vanilla extract and salt with an electric mixer until smooth.190 g (¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter, 80 g (6 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, pinch salt
- Stir in the cornflour then add the plain flour and stir with a spatula until it forms a dough, it may seem like it is too much flour but it will combine eventually.50 g (7 Tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch), 225 g (1 + ¾ cups + 1 Tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Tip the dough into the prepared cake tin and use your hands to pack it down as firmly and as evenly as possible.
- Bake the shortbread for 20-25 mins until it is pale golden. Set aside to cool completely in the tin.
Caramel Option 1:
- Place the light brown sugar, golden syrup, butter and cream in a deep pan over a medium heat. Stir until the butter and sugar are fully melted.250 g (1 ¼ cups) light brown soft sugar, 150 g (7 ½ Tablespoons) golden syrup, 150 g (⅔ cup) vegan block butter, 150 ml (½ cup + 2 Tablespoons) vegan double cream (I use Elmlea)
- Bring up to the boil and cook, stirring every now and again, until it reaches 117-118℃ (243-245°F) on a candy or probe thermometer. It may take a while to come up to temperature and you may need to turn up the heat but it will get there!
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, then pour the caramel over the shortbread. Refrigerate for about 3 hours, until set.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
Caramel Option 2:
- Heat the cream and salt together until steaming hot then set aside.120 ml (½ cup) vegan double cream (I use Elmlea), ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pour the sugar in an even layer into a medium sized saucepan then gently pour the water on top. Without stirring, cook the sugar over medium heat until it comes to a boil and starts to caramelise. To prevent it from crystallising, use a pastry brush dipped in cold water to brush down any sugar crystals that may form around the edge of the pan.215 g (1 cup + 1 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar, 60 ml (¼ cup) water
- Once the sugar begins to turn golden around the sides, gently swirl the pan so that it caramelises evenly. Cook until it is a rich golden amber colour, then immediately remove from the heat and stir in the hot cream. Be careful as it will bubble up violently.
- Add the butter and stir until melted. Return the pan to the heat, bring up to the boil and cook, stirring every now and again, until it reaches 117-118℃ (243-245°F) on a candy or probe thermometer.120 g (½ cup) vegan block butter
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, then pour the caramel over the shortbread. Refrigerate for about 3 hours, until set.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Topping:
- Place the chopped chocolate and the coconut oil in a heat-proof bowl. Microwave in short bursts, stirring in-between each, until melted. Alternatively melt over a double boiler.200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate, 15 g (1 rounded Tablespoon) coconut oil
- Pour the melted chocolate over the chilled caramel and tilt the pan so that it spreads in an even layer. Set the pan aside at room temperature until set.
- Lift the shortbread slab out of the tin. Pour boiling water over the blade of a large, sharp knife, dry it off and use it to cut the shortbread into 16 squares, reheating the blade as necessary.
- Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- *Do not make both caramel options! Pick the one that suits you best - see post above for details.
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them. A gram is always a gram, but a cup won’t always measure out the same amount.
- If you are making caramel option 1, you can replace ¼ of the light brown sugar with dark brown for a deeper colour - this is what I did for the millionaire's shortbread in the photos.