Caramel Shortcake

Not only do I remember my mother making this when I was a child, but it is my son's favourite. Every time we go to Starbuck's (I admit it, I'm an addict) he has to have a piece of their caramel shortcake. However at £1.65 a piece I felt it was a bit pricey, and to be honest none of the shop bought stuff has tasted anywhere near as nice, so I decided to have a go myself.

Ingredients

200g shop bought shortbread (you can make your own but I was feeling lazy)

25 g melted butter

150g butter

150g sugar (I used caster but soft brown sugar also works well)

397g tin condensed milk

150g Cadbury's Dairy Milk

I started off by crushing the shortbread. Usually I'd do this with a rolling pin, with the shortbread in a sandwich bag but since I had neither I put the shortbread in a bowl and hit it with the bottom of a thick glass until it looked like breadcrumbs. Then I mixed in the melted butter. I lined a baking tray with greaseproof paper and tipped the mixture in, pressing it down firmly with my knuckles, before putting it in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool.

While that was cooling I put the rest of the butter and the sugar in a pan over a moderate heat. When the butter had melted I added the condensed milk. For the next 20 minutes or so I got a sore wrist from stirring the mixture continuously until it bubbled and thickened. Then I poured the caramel over the shortbread and left it to cool while I ran to the shop to buy the chocolate I'd forgotten to get earlier. I melted the chocolate in the microwave and poured it over the caramel mixture, leaving it to cool down before putting it back in the fridge for an hour or so.

This was so easy to make, and way cheaper than buying it elsewhere. I think I cut the slab into about 12 rather large pieces. Son and hubby absolutely loved it and I've now had to hide it before they eat it all and spoil their dinner.