Millionaire’s Spiderweb Shortbread

Challenge your baking skills with this Halloween show-stopper recipe for Millionaire’s Spiderweb Shortbread! The shortbread base is dyed bright orange, and the top is decorated with a white chocolate web and an edible fondant spider.

Why you’ll love this Millionaire’s Spiderweb Shortbread

• Fun to make. Piping the spiderweb and making the fondant spider is really fun, and it’s actually much easier than it looks.
• Tastes delicious. You really can’t go wrong with biscuits, caramel and chocolate!
• Perfect for sharing. Slice into 10-12 triangles and share with family or treat your friends. Who will get the spider!?
• Can be frozen. If there are any leftovers (which I doubt there will be!) wrap the shortbread in foil and clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months.

How to make a chocolate spiderweb

1. Prepare a piping bag. You won’t need a piping nozzle, just spoon melted white chocolate into a small piping bag and snip off the tip with a pair of scissors. You only need a small hole to pipe the chocolate, so be careful not to cut off too much.

2. Pipe a spiral. Hold the piping bag upright in the middle of the millionaire’s. Gently apply pressure and pipe a spiral moving outwards until you reach the edge of the baking tin. It doesn’t have to be super neat and don’t worry if the lines are a bit wobbly.

3. Drag through the circles. Use a toothpick to drag through the circles starting from the middle. Leave even spacing between each line to create a web effect.

It’s as simple as that!

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More Halloween recipes you’ll love

• Vampire cookies

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Spiderweb Millionaires Shortbread recipe (makes 12 slices)

Ingredients

For the shortbread base:
300g plain flour
200g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge
100g white caster sugar
Orange food colouring

For the caramel layer:
85g unsalted butter
80g light brown sugar
30ml golden syrup
½ tin of condensed milk (a tin is 397g, so roughly 200g)
Pinch of salt

For the chocolate topping:
200g milk chocolate
50g white chocolate

For the fondant spider:
Red and black fondant icing – I used Dr. Oetker’s Read to Roll fondant

Method

Start with the shortbread base

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a the base of an 8inch loose-bottomed / springform baking tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Add the flour and sugar to a large bowl and give them a stir.
3. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until a dough has formed. This can take a little while, so be patient and it will come together eventually.
4. Add a few drops of orange food colouring and knead the dough using the palm of your hand until it turns orange.
5. Press the dough out in the baking tin into an even layer.
6. Prick the top all over with a fork and bake for 30-35 minutes until slightly golden on top. Set aside and leave to cool.

Now make the caramel layer

7. Put the condensed milk, butter, sugar, golden syrup, and salt into a saucepan.
8. Gently heat on a low temperature until all the ingredients have melted.
9. Now turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring all the time, until the caramel has thickened and turns a deep golden colour.
10. Pour the caramel on top of the shortbread and spread it out into an even layer. Cover the baking tin with clingfilm and place in the fridge to set for at least an hour.

Move on to the chocolate topping (see photos above)

11. Take the shortbread out of the fridge and set aside.
12. Break the white chocolate up into a microwave-safe bowl and melt in 30-second blasts until smooth. Spoon into a small piping bag, snip off the tip and set it aside for now.
13. Now melt the milk chocolate in 30-second blasts until smooth. Pour the melted milk chocolate on top of the caramel layer and spread it out evenly.
14. Return to the piping bag. Hold it upright in the middle of the baking tin, pipe a white chocolate spiral on top of the milk chocolate moving outwards. Use a toothpick to drag lines through the spiral starting from the middle to create a spiderweb effect.
15. Place the baking tin back in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.

Let the millionaire’s sit at room temperature for roughly 1 hour before slicing. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

How to make the fondant spider

Find the instructions and a how-to video on my “How to make a fondant spider” blog post.