caramel won't set :-(

rubys_mummy

well i've just had another disastrous go at millionaire's shortbread :-(

for some reason the caramel just WILL NOT set and i can't figure out what i've done wrong

i simmered the condensed milk and other ingredients for about 30 flippin minutes, stirring it constantly, on a really low heat......but it STILL ended up a runny mess!!

any ideas on what i'm doing wrong, or any fool proof recipes?

i don't want it to get the better of me lol!

fiscalfreckles

What stage are you at, have you tried letting it cool & putting it in the fridge?

krlyr

How long are you leaving it to set? I've had caramel take a couple of hours in the fridge at best. I made some millionaires shortbread the other week, and while it admittedly went a little wrong (started to separate - managed to pull it back together adding some warm water and stirring like mad!), it took all evening, overnight and a bit the next morning to set (and even then, it was a tad on the gooey side). Not sure if it would have set a bit quicker had it not separated, but it did do it eventually.
This is the recipe I used then
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/432778/Chocolate-millionaire-s-shortbread

For bannoffee I tend to follow the recipe on the Carnation website and have never had any problems with it being too runny
http://www.carnation.co.uk/Recipes/8/Classic-Banoffee-Pie

rubys_mummy

thanks for your replies....i let the shortbread cool, let the caramel cool slightly, then poured it over the shortbread

i put it in the fridge for about 6 hrs initially, then left it overnight......still was a gooey mess!!

McKneff

I thought that the condensed milk had tobe boiled for hours.

angeltreats

I used to have issues with this - I found that the best way was to actually boil it rather than simmering (despite most recipes suggesting to keep it on a low heat), and keep stirring constantly otherwise it will catch. Eventually it will darken in colour which is when it's ready.

However when I used to make this a lot, I was working in a busy kitchen and kept getting distracted and burning it, so I started making it in the microwave instead, in a glass Pyrex bowl. I would put it in on full power for two minutes at a time, stirring in between, and it worked perfectly. It's been a while since I did it but from memory it would take about ten minutes cooking time in total.

Another thing you could try - cook the tins of condensed milk as you would for banoffee, but just leave them longer than normal. The caramel will set much stiffer and you can just spread it on. If you have a pressure cooker, 15 minutes on full pressure will do it (much better than having to keep an eye on it constantly and using several hours worth of electricity).

krlyr

McKneff wrote: »

I thought that the condensed milk had tobe boiled for hours.

You can make a tin of condensed milk into caramel by boiling it in the tin for 4-6 hours or so but Carnation themselves give a recipe to make it in about 10 mins by removing it from the tin and adding butter and sugar. I've done both ways and find that although the boiled-in-a-tin has a slightly firmer consistancy initially (much like Carnation's own tinned caramel, which I imagine is done in a similar way), they both set to pretty much the same consistancy. The butter/sugar version is a slightly different flavour (OH prefers the boiled-tin one) but not drastically so, most people don't notice the difference when I alternate methods (depending on what time I have spare/what I have in the cupboards)


Edit: OP, just saw Carnation do a recipe for millionaires shortbread too (and I love the idea of adding a bit of white chocolate to the topping for the swirl effect!)
http://www.carnation.co.uk/Recipes/60/Millionaires-Shortbread

rubys_mummy

thanks for all your help....i'm gonna try again using the microwave method lol!!