I’ve always loved millionaire’s shortbread – the combination
of flavours and textures is fabulously indulgent. When Lindt got in touch and
asked if I fancied coming up with a recipe using their chocolate, I thought it
would be fun to turn this tea-time favourite into an elegant dessert. Layers of
golden biscuit, gooey salted caramel, and Lindt’s Excellence Dark Sesame Intense, softened with a
little butter and syrup, all topped off with whipped cream – how can you possibly
resist? The bitter edge of the dark chocolate goes beautifully with the
sweetness of the rest of the dessert, and the sesame itself echoes the
saltiness of the caramel.
Ingredients
100g Hobnobs (about 6)
50g salted butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
For the caramel:
25g butter
25g light brown sugar
25g caster sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
50ml double cream
Coarse sea salt
For the chocolate layer:
70g dark sesame Lindt
30g butter
Golden syrup
To finish:
Whipped cream
Sesame seeds
Makes two
This dessert needs to be made in several stages, so it’s
not a quick recipe, but you can do it ahead of time. Start by making the
biscuit base. Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs, and then melt the butter and
mix together with the biscuit crumbs and the golden syrup. Divide between two
glasses and press down into a solid layer at the bottom. Push it neatly up to
the edges. Place the glasses in the fridge so the biscuit can solidify while
you make the caramel.
To make the caramel, measure out the butter, sugars and
golden syrup into a pan and warm gently, stirring regularly. Once all the
ingredients have combined into a smooth golden mixture, remove the pan from the
heat and add the cream, beating vigorously until combined. Finally, add a pinch
of sea salt and taste – how salty you want it to be is up to you.
Allow the caramel to cool and thicken for ten minutes or
so, stirring every now and then. Once it’s cooled, pour into the two glasses,
tipping them to allow it to spread into an even layer, and return to the
fridge. Leave for half an hour.
Finally, make the chocolate layer – simply melt all the
ingredients together in a microwave, stirring frequently. In case you’re
wondering, you need to add the butter and syrup so that the chocolate will be
soft enough to eat with a spoon – if you just use chocolate it will set rock
hard. Pour the mixture into the glasses, tipping again so that it spreads out
evenly (if you use a spoon to spread the chocolate out, it will set matt rather
than glossy). Return to the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
To finish the desserts off, whip a little cream and add a
dollop to each glass with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Yum!
