Salted Caramel & Peanut Butter Shortbread (aka, Billionaire’s Slice)

Be warned, this is possibly the naughtiest and most indulgent thing you will ever eat; it’s also very addictive and adds inches to your waist line, so it is not for the faint hearted. My mum has always made the best Millionaire shortbread in the World, and as this is technically Billionaire shortbread I still stand by that Mum’s is best. She would always cut the pieces up so small; I think with the hope that we would eat less, it would last longer and she wouldn’t have chunky children. However this doesn’t always work as everybody just takes more pieces, but you have more will power than I do this technique may work for you.

Anyway, as I have grown up obsessed with chocolate toffee shortbread (as mum calls it), I saw this recipe in BBC Good Food Magazine and knew I had to try it. I have made a few very minor adjustments, but the recipe just made my mouth water and I have to say it did not disappoint! Well, I say it did not disappoint but I was very sad that it didn’t last longer, as it disappeared very quickly!

For the base

–          225g unsalted butter – cut into cubes – plus a little extra for greasing

–          140g dry roasted peanuts

–          225g plain flour

–          50g cornflour

–          85g golden caster sugar

For the peanut butter layer

–          140g butter

–          225g smooth peanut butter

–          140g icing sugar

For the salted caramel layer

–          1 x 397g tin of Carnation caramel

–          300g condensed milk

–          2 tbsp golden syrup

–          1 ½ tsp sea salt

For the Chocolate-Toffee Topping

–          300g dark chocolate – broken into pieces

–          140g soft toffees

–          3 tbsp milk

–          ½ tsp sea salt

Heat the oven to 180’C

Grease and line a 20 x 30cm rectangular cake tin with parchment

Whiz the ingredients for the base together in a food processor until it starts to come together (a few small chunks of peanuts are not a bad thing as they give it a nice crunch)

Tip the dough onto a work top and knead to bring the it together

Press the base into the tin, creating an even layer, and bake for 25minutes until golden. Remove and set aside to cool.

To make the peanut butter layer, melt the butter and peanut butter together, stirring until smooth.

Sieve in the icing sugar and stir to combine.

While the mixture is still warm, pour over the shortbread and leave to cool for about 2 hours, until it has set.

To make the caramel layer, pour all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Cook off vigorously for 2-3 minutes, whisking continuously until the colour darkens a shade or two and thickens slightly.

Leave the caramel to cool for 20 minutes before pouring on the peanut butter layer and then chill for a further 2 hours until cooled completely.

Once the caramel has cooled, melt the chocolate in a clean bowl over some simmering water and then pour over the caramel.

Leave to cool for 15 minutes and then make the salted toffee by gently heating the toffees, milk and salt in a pan, continuously stirring until you have a runny sauce

Use a spoon to quickly drizzle the caramel over the chocolate in a swirly pattern (or a squeezy bottle if you have one) and chill in the fridge for another 2 hours until completely set.

Remove the slice from the tin and slice into as many slices as you think you can handle (I think the smaller the better so you can enjoy in little and often).

TIP – When it comes to cutting up the slice there are a few things you can do to prevent it from squishing.

1. Score along the chocolate with a sharpe knife the sections that you wish to cut before you take it out the tin. Don’t cut through completely but this will take some of the pressure away when it comes to chopping them out of the tin

2. Make sure you have as sharpe a knife as possible

3. Dip your knife in boiling water before slicing

4. Remove the slice from the fridge and leave for 20 minutes so the chocolate comes up to room temperature and isn’t so hard to slice.