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easy caramel squares with coconut shortbread base
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The Ultimate Caramel Squares (Millionaire's Shortbread)

easy and quick to make caramel squares
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Course: Tea time treat
Cuisine: Northern Ireland
Keyword: caramel shortbread recipe, easy caramel slice recipe, millionaires shortbread recipe, the ultimate caramel squares recipe
Servings: 24

Equipment

  • 1 18 x 28cm shallow rectangular traybake tin or 9" square shallow tin
  • 1 heavy based saucepan

Ingredients

For the Base:

  • 160 g butter
  • 110 g light soft brown sugar you could also use caster sugar for a lighter coloured base
  • 190 g plain flour
  • 50 g fine desiccated coconut

For the Caramel:

  • 115 g caster sugar
  • 115 g golden syrup
  • 225 g butter
  • 1 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

For the topping:

  • 200 g milk chocolate
  • 50 g butter

Instructions

To make the base:

  • Preheat the oven to 160C (fan). Grease and line the tin with greaseproof or silicone baking paper. Melt the butter and stir in the other ingredients.
  • Bake the base for 15 - 20 minutes, until light golden and firm to the touch. Allow to cool whilst you make the caramel.

To make the caramel:

  • Place the caster sugar in the saucepan and heat over a high heat until the sugar dissolves and caramelises - the sugar should be smooth with no visible crystals and a rich golden colour. You don't need to stir all the time at this stage but an occasional stir once the sugar starts to dissolve will help it to dissolve more quickly and evenly. Add the golden syrup and continue to heat, stirring continuously until they are well mixed together.
  • Next, add the butter. The mixture will sizzle and split but keep stirring over the heat until it combines into a smooth caramel. At this stage you can add the tin of condensed milk, again it might split but just keep stirring over the heat, it will eventually become a lovely rich caramel.
  • Immediately pour the caramel over the cooked base. Allow to cool completely.

To make the Topping:

  • Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave at 30 second intervals, spread this evenly over the cooled caramel and allow to set before cutting into squares.