CRAZY RICH ASIAN MILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD
CRAZY RICH ASIAN MILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD
#SIAintheKitchen
Did anybody else love that movie, Crazy Rich Asians? Not only did I see it in theatres, but I saw it a countless amount of times on the plane. Seriously. There came to be a point where all of the mainstream movies were blah and the documentary selection was exhausted. Yes, I was traveling that much. YES, I miss it. But goddamn, that movie really put us Asians on the map.
Now this crazy rich Asian millionaire shortbread has nothing to do with the movie - I just thought the name was hilarious. I am a fan of millionaire shortbread in general (shortbread crust, caramel centre, solid chocolate top) but I wanted to experiment with it. How could I make this better? After I fucked up on some matcha shortbread, I decided to salvage the dough (it was a tad bit too crumbly), press it into a pan and make my own Asian-inspired millionaire shortbread.
Matcha shortbread. Miso salted date caramel. White chocolate. Wafers. Can it get any better than this?
Loved every bite of this. I guess the only thing to do during this social isolation period is basically bake and eat everything in sight. Yay for successful baking experiments!
Now, there are a few components in this dessert. It’s well worth it and each layer does not take much time to do at all. Don’t let the list of ingredients turn you off - I assure you this is an easy bar to do.
CRAZY RICH ASIAN MILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD - makes 1 8x8 baking dish, about 25 squares
Matcha shortbread
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp madagascar bourbon vanilla extract
3 tbsp matcha powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
Miso date salted caramel
10 medjool dates, pitted
1/3 cup almond butter, creamy
2 tbsp coconut oil, unrefined
1 tbsp male syrup, grade B
3 tbsp shiro miso paste
1/2 tsp kosher salt
White chocolate
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 (170ml) can thick cream (17%)
1/2 (312g) pkg chocolate sugar wafers, roughly crushed
How to make the matcha shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment or grease with oil. Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla and matcha powder together for 3 minutes on medium-high in your stand mixer. Gradually add in the flour until the mixture forms small balls of dough begin to form. When pressed between your thumb and your index finger, the dough should stick together.
Transfer the dough to the 8x8 baking pan and gently press into the pan until level. Bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until the edges begin to brown slightly. Remove from the oven, set aside and let cool.
How to make the miso date salted caramel:
Place the pitted medjool dates in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over top of them so that they are completely covered. Let the dates soak and soften - about 15 minutes.
Reserve the soaking liquid and transfer the dates to a food processor along with the almond butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, salt and miso paste. Blend on low until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides and continue blending until the mixture is smooth (will take a few tries - it’s okay if the date skins don’t completely blend). Set aside.
How to make the white chocolate layer:
Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium-high and stir as to not burn the cream. When bubbles begin to form on the side and the cream liquefies, remove from heat and pour overtop the chocolate. Stir the mixture with a spatula to ensure the chocolate complete melts.
Assembly:
Once the shortbread mixture has cooled, spread the date caramel over top of it. I like to pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes before adding the white chocolate layer.
When ready, pour the white chocolate over date the caramel layer. Top and chocolate wafers and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve. Please note the caramel and chocolate layers do not completely solidify and will still be a little bit soft and creamy.