Looking for an indulgent and decorative Halloween bake? Look no further than this Spooky Miso Millionaires Shortbread recipe! A gooey layer of miso caramel is encased between the crumbly shortbread base and spooky chocolate topping – each bite is sweet, salty, rich and irresistibly delicious! White chocolate ghosts, spiderwebs and sprinkles decorate the top of the millionaires shortbread for a fun and festive Halloween twist!
Recipe Overview
- FLAVOUR: On a scale of trick-or-treat, miso caramel is definitely a treat! Stir the white miso paste into the caramel to perfectly balance the sweetness of the buttery shortbread and creamy chocolate layers.
- TEXTURE: What makes millionaires shortbread irresistible is the combination of textures in every bite. Crunchy, gooey, chewy, creamy, buttery, crumbly. HEAVENLY!
- SERVES: Slice these spooky millionaires shortbread into 9, 12 or 16 depending on how many servings you need. Although, be mindful that they aren’t the easiest to cut and can be a little messy!
Ingredients to make Spooky Millionaires Shortbread
- Unsalted butter: Gives the shortbread a buttery flavour and crumbly texture.
- Sugar: For this recipe you will need two types of sugar, white caster sugar for the shortbread base and light brown sugar for the caramel.
- Vanilla extract (optional): Adds a fragrant and sweet flavour to the shortbread.
- Plain flour: Binds the shortbread ingredients together and gives the base a crunchy texture.
- Condensed milk: The main ingredient used to make caramel for millionaires shortbread. Condensed milk is a tin of milk and sugar already combined and thickened, which speeds up the caramel-making process. I feel it gives the caramel a thicker and chewier texture too.
- Golden syrup: Used to make the caramel, golden syrup adds sweetness and helps thicken it up.
- White miso paste (optional): Stirred into the caramel to add a salty, rich flavour. There are many variations of miso paste, so try to use the same kind I used (here’s the link).
- Chocolate: For the topping, you will need milk chocolate and white chocolate bars to create your spooky decorations.
- Sprinkles: Edible eyes are great for the spiderwebs and add any other spooky sprinkles you like!
Best Ever Shortbread Base
Millionaires shortbread always start with making the shortbread base. Classic shortbread recipes use a 3:2:1 ratio of flour, butter and sugar to create a wonderfully crumbly, crunchy and tender texture.
First, beat room-temperature butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (I like to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract for extra flavour). Then, add the flour and bring the mixture together into a dough. Press the dough into the baking tin and prick it all over with a fork. This allows the steam to escape and helps the shortbread bake evenly. Bake it at 180°C fan for 25 minutes until golden, then place it in the fridge to chill.
How to Make Miso Caramel
Whilst the shortbread base cools, we start making the miso caramel. Miso adds a deep umami flavour that balances the sweetness and adds complexity and richness to the caramel.
Melt all of the ingredients, except for the white miso paste, over low heat in a saucepan. Stir in the miso paste until dissolved. Once you turn up the heat, the mixture will start to bubble. At this stage, set a timer for 6 minutes and stir the caramel continuously. Keep scraping around the edge and bottom of the pan to prevent it from burning. The caramel will turn a golden colour and thicken, though it should still have a pouring consistency. Pour the caramel over the shortbread base and return to the fridge to set.
Spooky Millionaires Shortbread Decoration
Once the caramel has set, it’s time to add some spooky to your millionaires shortbread! Feel free to get creative and come up with your own design, or give these cute white chocolate ghosts and spiderwebs a go. Just remember, you’ll need to work quickly in case the chocolate starts to set! Get your piping bags, sprinkles and toothpicks prepped beforehand, then go for it 👻
- For the white chocolate ghosts: Drop teaspoons of white chocolate on top and use a toothpick to drag them into ghost shapes. Finish by piping two eyes and a mouth on top of each to create the ghost faces.
- For the white chocolate spiderwebs: Pipe spirals of melted white chocolate and use a toothpick to drag through the circles starting from the middle to create a spiderweb. Place the edible eyes on top.
- Add your sprinkles: Fill in any gaps with spooky sprinkles, I love these cute pumpkin and ghost sprinkles from cake decor.
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Spooky Miso Millionaires Shortbread
Ingredients
For the shortbread base:
- 200 grams Unsalted butter room temperature
- 100 grams White caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 300 grams Plain flour
For the miso caramel layer:
- 150 grams Unsalted butter
- 30 grams Light brown sugar or caster sugar
- 60 grams Golden syrup
- 1 tin (397g) Condensed milk
- 1.5 tablespoons White miso paste
For the spooky chocolate topping and decoration:
- 300 grams Milk chocolate
- 100 grams White chocolate
- Spooky sprinkles and edible eyes
Instructions
Start by making the shortbread base:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 160°C electric. Line an 8inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
- Beat the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy. Add the flour and fold to make a shortbread dough.200 grams Unsalted butter, 100 grams White caster sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, 300 grams Plain flour
- Press the dough out into the baking tin and prick all over with a fork.
- Bake for 25 minutes until golden and firm. Place in the fridge to cool.
Now make the miso caramel:
- Combine the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and condensed milk in a large saucepan.150 grams Unsalted butter, 30 grams Light brown sugar, 60 grams Golden syrup, 1 tin (397g) Condensed milk
- Place over low heat and stir until the ingredients have melted into a smooth mixture. Now stir in the miso paste until dissolved and no lumps remain.1.5 tablespoons White miso paste
- Turn the heat up to medium so the mixture starts to boil. Keep stirring continuously (scraping around the edge and bottom of the pan) for 6 minutes until the caramel thickens and turns light golden in colour. Remove from the heat and continue stirring to knock out the air bubbles.
- Pour the caramel over the shortbread base and return to the fridge for 1 hour to set.
For the chocolate topping:
- Finely chop the milk chocolate and place it in a large glass bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in-between, until the chocolate is smooth and melted. or 60-90 seconds. Transfer 2 tablespoons of the chocolate into a piping bag (this will be used to pipe the ghost faces). Set aside for now.300 grams Milk chocolate
- Melt the white chocolate in the same way and transfer 2 tablespoons into a piping bag (this will be used to pipe the spiderwebs).100 grams White chocolate
- TIP: You'll need to work quickly when adding the decorations so the chocolate doesn't set. Take the baking tin out of the fridge and pour the melted milk chocolate on top, spreading it out into an even layer.
- For the ghosts: Dot teaspoons of melted white chocolate on top and use a toothpick to drag them into a ghost shape. Pipe the ghost's eyes and mouth using the melted milk chocolate.
- For the spiderwebs: Pipe spirals of melted white chocolate and use a toothpick to drag through the circles starting from the middle to create a spiderweb. Place the edible eyes on top.
- Finish by decorating with spooky sprinkles to fill in the gaps, then return to the fridge for at least 2-3 hours or until completely set.Spooky sprinkles and edible eyes
- For neat slices, use a sharp knife to score the top of the millionaire's shortbread. Then heat the knife under hot water, wipe it dry, and firmly slice through the layers. Enjoy!
Can the miso paste be left out of this recipe?
Hi Catherine, yes it can 🙂 It’s an optional extra but you can leave it out no problem. Nothing in the recipe needs to change, although if you wanted to, you could stir half a teaspoon of salt into the caramel to balance the sweetness. Hope that helps!