August 3, 2019
Vegan Millionaires Shortbread!
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Vegan millionaires shortbread with vegan shortbread base, vegan caramel filling and vegan chocolate on top!
Vegan bakes
I think I have lost count of how many millionaires shortbread themed recipes are on my blog… even if they’re the cake form, or the cupcake form, I have SO MANY. I just adore it. However, none of them are vegan so far!
This is partly because I am not vegan myself, so I have never needed to bake any.. but it’s also because for these, using vegan alternatives makes it harder as they can be harder to come by. Regular condensed milk is available in all shops – and so easy to find. Vegan condensed milk? Very few shops sell it in comparison!
Vegan millionaires shortbread
I have seen many vegan millionaires shortbread recipes now that use medjool dates, cashew nuts, maple syrup etc… and whilst I have literally no issue with this whatsoever, they’re just not ingredients that I commonly buy for my baking.
I wanted to make my vegan millionaires shortbread as similar to my regular millionaires shortbread recipes as I could, so that they fit my style better, and so that they’re easier for me! The good thing is as well, is you only have to alternate three ingredients.. the condensed milk, the butter, and the chocolate!
Base
My shortbread base for this recipe is the exact same as my other millionaires recipes, apart from the butter I use. I used the Stork block for these as it’s a very good dairy free & vegan butter that’s firm, and found in most supermarkets! You may think “STORK ISN’T DAIRY FREE?!” but the foil kind is! It’s amazing.
The only difference in how you make the shortbread, is that I found it’s better if you bake it for a smidge longer than the usual shortbread recipe! It may be because the butter is softer than normal butter is, but who knows… a couple more minutes doesn’t hurt!
Caramel
For the caramel, it’s similar to my other recipe on my millionaires flapjacks, but actually quite different. I tried this caramel several different ways, but finally cracked it! For the butter, I used the Stork block again, and then also this amazing vegan condensed milk.
Honestly, it’s a little life changing.. and it works wonderfully. I had to change the quantities of the other ingredients that I’ve used ever so slightly as the tin size of the vegan condensed milk are different (smaller), but otherwise the ethos is the same!
Vegan condensed milk
I tried using my other caramel from most of my other millionaires recipes such as my Mini Egg millionaires, but I just didn’t like it as much. It didn’t set as well for me, and the colour was too light. Doing it this way, with the light brown sugar means you get a much better caramel with the amazing vegan condensed milk.
You have to be careful when making this caramel, as always! You want the temperature of the caramel to be about a medium heat, and definitely not really high. You must keep stirring, ensuring nothing is being left on the bottom of the pan so you don’t get any burnt bits in your caramel!
Vegan chocolate
For the chocolate side of it, I used dark chocolate that is naturally dairy free and vegan. You need to make sure to check the labels of the brand you choose to buy, as some can still contain dairy in some way, but often the supermarket own cheap bars are naturally dairy free!
I liked to keep my vegan millionaires simple as the caramel and dark chocolate with the buttery shortbread compliment each other so well, they don’t need any other additions. You can add anything you wish as extra to make the bake look lovely and pretty! I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Enjoy! x
Vegan Millionaires Shortbread!
Ingredients
Shortbread Base
- 200 g vegan butter (I used Stork block)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 275 g plain flour
Caramel Filling
- 200 g vegan butter
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 370 g vegan condensed milk (one tin - I used Carnations)
Decoration
- 300 g vegan dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC Fan, and line a 9x9" square tin with parchment paper.
- Cream together your vegan butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the flour and beat again until a dough is formed!
- Press the dough into the bottom of the tin, and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden on top.
- One baked, leave to cool on the side, but still in the tin!
- In a large heavy based saucepan, add your vegan butter, caster sugar, golden and vegan condensed milk.
- Melt on a low-medium heat until everything is melted and the sugar is dissolved.
- Once melted, turn the heat up slightly to a medium heat and boil the mixture for 4-5 minutes, or until the mixture has started to turn more golden and thickened. Stir it constantly with a spatula so the bottom of the pan is scraped properly.
- Pour the caramel onto the shortbread and leave it to set in the fridge for two hours or so!
- Once set, melt your vegan chocolate carefully and pour over!
- Leave the bake to set in the fridge until solid, and then portion and enjoy!
Notes
- I used a tin of Carnations vegan condensed milk but you can use any vegan condensed milk in this recipe!
- If you wanted to add some white chocolate swirls for your decoration, I recommend this vegan white chocolate!
- I use this 9" square tin for all my brownies/millionaires recipes as it's so good!
- Make sure that all of your other ingredients are vegan (does depend on brand), especially if you have allergies.
- I used a supermarket own dark chocolate as it's naturally vegan - but again can depend on the brand.
- This will last in the fridge or room temperature on a cooler day, for up to a week!
- You can use any vegan chocolate you like on the top - 300g is just the ideal amount to cover the traybake and have a decent thickness!
- If you caramel is very hard to cut after being in the fridge, leave it at room temperature for a bit.
- If you caramel is very soft even after being in the fridge, you didn't boil it for long enough or at a hot enough temperature!
- Original recipe
- Base: 200g vegan butter, 100g caster sugar, 275g plain flour
- Caramel: 100g vegan butter, 100g light brown sugar, 600g vegan condensed milk
- Topping: 200g vegan dark chocolate, 100g vegan white chocolate
ENJOY!
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J x
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I’m in the US and have concerns about caster sugar. I googled it and read that it is somewhere between our granulated sugar and our Cpnfectioner’s sugar.
Holwever, I noticed comments about using light brown sugar in the caramel filing. Should it be light brown sugar?
Confectioners sugar is the same as icing sugar here in the UK. Granulated sugar is just a bit more coarse than caster sugar, Google says that in the US you can get similar called super fine sugar? Personally I’d substituted caster sugar for granulated rather than brown sugar if you can’t find caster sugar.
I made this twice. The first time, I used gluten free flour for the base and that worked well. I boiled the caramel for longer than stated as it didn’t seem to thicken like it says in the recipe, and it read 108C on my thermometer. That set well in the fridge was but a bit too gooey at room temperature and the chocolate cracked when I cut it. The result was that the caramel oozed out of the sides and the chocolate cracked into large chunks when it was eaten. Messy and not ideal.
The second time, I used heated the caramel up to 115-116C, which took ages but was the absolute perfect consistency at room temperature and got lots of rave reviews at my friend’s party. I also added a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the melted chocolate and marked it into portions when it was semi-set, then it didn’t crack when it was cut and neither did it crack when it was bitten (instead, it just left happy teeth marks).
This is a great recipe and I’d definitely make it again. I did reduce the golden syrup by a tbsp on the second attempt as it was very sickly sweet on the first attempt. This was still extremely sweet, so I’d reduce the syrup or sugar (or a bit of both) again next time (I still have a spare can of the Carnation Vegan milk left). The vegans at the party were thrilled with this recipe. I made more portions than stated out of it, to avoid any accidental sugar overdoses!
Please could you tell me how you mark the chocolate when it is not fully set to make it easier to cut? Thank you!
If I make these 10 days in advance for a party, do you think I could freeze them (it sounds like they’d be stale otherwise?)? Thanks.
Hi Jane! Love the new caramel recipe! I wondered what temperature you need to heat it up to for it to set properly? I’ve tried a few times just going off timing and it’s set differently each time so would like to try with a sugar thermometer 😊 thanks in advance!
Does the new carnation vegan cans work for this?
Hiya! Yes it is definitely worth a go! let me know how it goes! x
My friend Elaine bake me these and I absolutely love them. The absolute best that I have tasted
I made this for my sister in law who is following a dairy free diet atm. She loved it – but there is so much!
Will this bake freeze well?
Many thanks 🙂
Yes absolutely, you can freeze this for up to 3 months! Enjoy! x
Sorry I’m confused my the measurements. For the caramel, it seems to be aski my for 600g of condensed milk amd 100g rack of sugar and butter. Is that correct?
Made these with my daughter, so delicious they didn’t last long! Used Flora instead of stork (just because we had lots in the house) and carnation condensed milk. It all turned out perfectly! Thank you Jane. I’m just wondering is it possible to sub plain flour with almond flour to make it grain free? Has anyone tried this?
I made these but also made them gluten free and I altered the topping and mixed the chocolate with the biscoff with crushed biscoff biscuits on top. The caramel took much longer than 7-8 minutes I used Nestle Vegan Condensed Milk and it took about 20-25 minutes to form as imagine it has a much lower boiling point than full fat dairy, however looking at the recipe again I did forget to add the butter to the Condensed Milk so maybe that could explain why it took so long to thicken but at the same time glad I didn’t as it means less fat and it still works without it.
As the kitchen was hot and I had used dairy free margarine and not the dairy free stork block and it had melted which meant mixture was cake consistency. I managed to rectify by adding more flour which meant the Shortbread was slightly crumbly. Next time I will ensure that the vegan butter is cold or I will chill the mixture . Overall it came out really well all the staff enjoyed it and couldn’t believe it was vegan and gluten Free. It was my first time making them, next time I will make a thicker layer of caramel as I had used more chocolate so visually the caramel layer wasn’t as defined as I would of liked.
Can I ask where you got gluten free biscoff biscuits and spreads from? I didn’t know that was possible so excited to source it
I made these but doubled the recipe, made them gluten free and I altered the topping and mixed the chocolate with the biscoff with crushed biscoff biscuits on top. The caramel took much longer than 7-8 minutes I used Nestle Vegan Condensed Milk and it took about 20-25 minutes to form as imagine it has a much lower boiling point than full fat dairy. As the kitchen was hot and I had used dairy free margarine and not the dairy free stork block and it had melted which meant mixture was cake consistency. I managed to rectify by adding more flour which meant the Shortbread was slightly crumbly. Next time I will ensure that the vegan butter is cold or I will chill the mixture . Overall it came out well all the staff enjoyed it and couldn’t believe it was vegan and gluten Free. Next time I will make a thicker layer of caramel as I had used more chocolate so visually the caramel layer wasn’t as defined as I would of liked.
Hi Jane
I made these vegan millionaire shortbreads and they came out the fridge perfect and they looked lovely but after they were cut and out back In the fridge the caramel seemed to melt and ooze everywhere. Please can you help why these may have happened, as I would like to try and make again
Hey, it may mean it wasn’t boiled for long enough xx
I’ve made this tonight and it’s setting in the fridge. The caramel has set and can’t wait to try it in the morning. I have 2 questions:
1. If I wanted to make a bigger version I.e traybake size, should I just double the recipe?
2. How am I going to cut it into perfect squares without cracking the chocolate?? Help!
Hey! How much ingredients you need depends on the size of the tin. There is many different methods, such as heating the knife, scoring the unset room temp chocolate but i just use a sharp knife xx
I baked this last night and the caramel turned out great. Really easy recipe to follow. I only had the one tin of vegan carnations condensed milk so halved the sugar and butter and its really nice, will get two tins next time though as its a thin layer.
Only issue I found was the chocolate keeps snapping off the top. Would you suggest adding anything to it to make it stay in place? Ie abit of stork butter?
Hello! I am glad you enjoy the recipe. There are many ways to prevent this such as warming the knife, scoring the chocolate at room temp but i just ensure to use a sharp knife xx
This was my first attempt at baking anything vegan and my first attempt at making caramel and it turned out amazingly!
The recipe is so easy to follow and the additional post and notes about the caramel was very helpful to a newbie like me!
Thank you so much Jane, following your blog has made me a much better baker!
These look amazing! Very well written instructions too 🙂 only question I have is will the carnation vegan condensed milk work in this recipe?
Hii! Thank you so much! Yes it should do x
I also had some trouble with the caramel, it didn’t set even overnight and is still very soft (wouldn’t hold for long if I cut it) but I followed your recipe.. the caramel didn’t thicken even after 20 minutes on medium heat (it was bubbling if I stopped stirring for a second). What could be the reason for this? I was worried after reading other comments about overcooking the caramel but it seems even after so long it was undercooked! Please help! Xx
Absolutely love this recipe! I’ve done it a couple of times now, but each time the caramel turns into a fudge overnight which isn’t nearly as nice; do you have any idea what I’m doing wrong?
The butter split from the caramel this time, but I managed to sort that whilst it was cooking (no idea why; there were no fast temperature changes).
That sounds over done! Vegan caramel does work slightly different but it sounds over done! x
Worked amazingly well! I halved the recipe so to only use one tin of condensed milk and 55g sugar and 55g vegan butter. The caramel is a little sticky but set really well and holds its shape.
Easy recipe to follow, I made my own vegan condensed milk and it worked well for this recipe
How do you make the vegan condensed milk please ?
Hi Jane,
These look amazing and I’m wanting to make them, but I’m gluten free as well as dairy and egg free! Do you think the shortbread would work ok with gluten free flour? Would it just be a straight swap? Love your recipes x
The shortbread should work well with gluten free flour! X
I’d love to try this but also trying to cut down on his much cake I eat. Do you think it would freeze will?
Yes it freezes well!!
I was so scared of ruining the caramel, but it turned out perfect! I will definitely make the caramel again. The shortbread was little crumbly for my liking, so I would probably swap that layer out with a different shortbread crust recipe. Just a few tips for American bakers: I used Miyokos vegan cultured butter and it gave a weird plastic flavor to the crust, so I would recommend trying a different brand of vegan butter. Also, the conversion of 100gm light brown sugar to 3tbsp is incorrect, 100gm is about 8 tbsp.
Did you use the natures charm evaporated coconut milk ? Thanks
Hi Jane
Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
I’ve a small issue with the texture of the set caramel, it’s quite grainy. I’ve made the recipe twice now and both times I’ve produced a grainy caramel. Any wise words greatly appreciated 😊
That often means the sugar isn’t being dissolved on a low enough heat, so when it’s turned up it creates a grainy texture!! x
The brand Carnation now do a vegan version of condensed milk. You can get it in morrisons or waitrose
Yep they do indeed!
Wooo! Just made these today. Perfect! First time, I tried making own condensed milk, turned out a flop. Tasted great, but it never set and I had to eat them with a spoon. This second time round, I ordered that condensed milk, and perfect. They are a dream!!!
Do you know what temperature the caramel should get to on a sugar thermometer?
I’m afraid not – I never do millionaires style caramel by temperature!
These turned out amazing! My daughter is gluten and dairy free due to having IBS so I edited this to gluten free as well so the whole family could enjoy it and it tastes so good!! My eldest son is usually fussy when it comes to free from stuff but even he enjoyed these!
Can’t wait to take some into work to give to my work mate who has the same as my daughter.
I’ve just put this into the fridge to set and reread the method and I only boiled it for 7 minutes!! I’m really worried it’s going to be stringy and not set!! I thought it was 5-7mins not 7-8.. anyway that will teach me to read properly FIRST!! Fingers crossed they set ok!!
Let me know how they turn out!! x
Well… strange I think the word is 😂 I’ve made your dairy free oreo brownies topped with the caramel and a chocolate and Oreo crumb!! It look amazing. The caramel just isn’t like normal caramel, it’s not chewy as such but doesn’t melt in your mouth either. Kind of like a very soft toffee sweet? So a bit of a glue like texture? Maybe I didn’t cook for long enough though. X
Have you found a supermarket which does sell the vegan condensed milk? Or do you get it online?
Thank you!x
I haven’t personally, I usually but it online!
Ocado/Waitrose stock it.
Most large supermarkets stock it. I discovered it in Tesco this week and am trying it out in this recipe tomorrow.
I’m lactose intolerant due to crohns disease and haven’t had these treats in decades, im so excited to try them, they’re my all time favourite 😍
Can i replace the condensed milk with coconut cream?
I’m afraid I haven’t tried this, sorry!
Hi Jane, I was wanting to make this version of shortbread as I have lots of Stork but no actual butter at the moment, however I am not vegan, so don’t need to worry about the vegan condensed milk. I have a regular tin of condensed milk so could I just substitute the same quantity of Stork for butter from one of your regular millionaires shortbread caramel recipes?
Many Thanks
Hiya! If you mean can you substitute the butter for stork in the shortbread, then yes!
Hey there. I made the condensed milk using non sweetened soya turned out great the fourth time hahahaha. Took a few attempts to get the time and temperature spot on.
Have to be careful not to over cook the c/milk as it goes stringy (still tasty)
I stuck to the recipe and it all worked out great thank you.
Hi! I don’t have any Stork butter at the moment, can I use normal margarine? The Pure spread?
X Hannah
Yes, that should be fine!
Hello, I made these and they look great but are so so chewy that we can’t eat them it’s like chewing a gummy sweet or fat, what do you think I did wrong, tastes nice just texture all wrong, I dud make my own condensed milk using 1 tin of coconut milk with 150g sugar reduced for 30 mins
It might be the homemade condensed milk in all honesty. The sugar may be different, and the preserving process is different, so the ratios are probably off!
Hi Jane. I followed the recipe to the tee… however I boiled my caramel on a high heat for 10 mins. It was delicious but still stringy & quite gooey. Should it set firm like non vegan caramel.
They still taste delicious just don’t look so good.
I would say it just needs boiling for a bit longer! If your temp was maybe a bit lower than mine for example, it may have needed a bit longer! X
Hi Jane I made these last night, they were great to make my only problem was that the caramel turned a dark colour but didn’t really thicken up, I carried on with the recipe and put them in the fridge to set. When I took them out of the fridge to cut this morning the caramel was still quite runny is there anything i can do next time because i will be making them again. My daughter said they were delicious 😋
Hey! If you used the correct ingredients, and the same condensed milk I did, the only real reason that it wouldn’t set is if it wasn’t boiled for long enough! If your temp was lower than mine for example, it would naturally take a little longer! xx
Hi Jane, Ive looked for a recipe for vegan millionaires without dates/coconut options so love that I’ve found this. Quick question, why does this need 600g of condensed milk when a dairy option is 397? Only asking as I have one tin of this in my house 😐
I found it works so so so much better with the 600g, and with the other ingredients. I found it too sticky, and that it didn’t set nearly as well with only one tin (which is usually 320g, less than regular condensed milk at 397g)