It’s no secret we’re big fans of millionaires shortbread, so we couldn’t let christmas slip by without doing a festive take on the traybake!
We’ve done them before (quite a few times before), millionaires shortbread is one of our favourite bakes. We’ve had creme egg, we’ve had oreo, we’ve had s’mores, we’ve had peanut butter, we’ve even had cupcakes, and now we’ve got after eight! We chose to do this for our festive version as no christmas dinner is complete without an after dinner mint (or eating half a box of after eights… same thing).
Now these don’t have caramel in the middle (don’t worry, we’re sad about this too…) we contemplated having a layer of caramel and a layer of mint fondant but really felt like the 2 flavours wouldn’t work well together and having a layer of chocolate shortbread, a layer of mint fondant and a layer of dark chocolate means they really encapsulate the classic chocolate treat! We made the fondant by mixing a little butter and milk with some icing sugar and peppermint extract, so it’s not like fondant you cover a cake with, it’s like a stiffer version of what’s inside an after eight, so that you can slice it up into squares that will keep their shape! After we’d topped the fondant with dark chocolate we broke up some after eights and sprinkled them on top.
To make it easier to cut up, we heat up a knife by putting it in hot water, this helps melt the chocolate so that you don’t end up with a really cracked surface! Just boil a kettle and then pour some water into a heat safe mug, cup or jug and keep it next to you while you slice so that you can keep making your knife hot!
- 250g plain flour
- 60g cocoa powder
- 125g icing sugar
- 225g butter
- 1⁄4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 20g butter
- 450g icing sugar
- 4 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp peppermint extract
- green food colouring (if desired)
- 20g butter
- 300g dark chocolate
- chopped after eights
- Cream the butter, then add in the sugar, salt and vanilla essence, mix until combined.
- On low speed, add the flour and cocoa powder until the dough holds together.
- Form the mixture into a ball.
- Place the dough into a lined 10″ square tin, and press down so that it evenly covers the base.
- Prick across the surface with a fork
- Bake at 150°C for 25 – 30mins.
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until smooth.
- You may need to add a little extra milk or icing sugar to get the thick consistency you’re looking for. Add as much or little colouring to get the colour you are looking to achieve.
- Put in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the fondant to harden slightly.
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water until fully melted and smooth.
- Pour on the fondant and spread out to the edges, give the tin a little shake to achieve a smooth finish.
- Add some chopped after eights to the top if you wish and put back into the fridge to set.
- Cut into bite size pieces to serve.
The fondant in these means they’re best kept in the fridge, but if you store them in an airtight container they can last for about a week or 2!
