Why ‘cracking chocolate combination’? Because the top layer of chocolate sets quite hard, and tends to crack. Beneath that there is a caramel layer as in millionaires’ shortbread, and there is another layer of biscuits and chocolate beneath – effectively a layer of tray bake.

Because the caramel layer under the top set layer of chocolate is squidgy it’s quite hard to cut this – I recommend a super sharp serrated knife.

Variations are to substitute Maltesers for some of the digestive biscuits. They come in bags of 135g/5 oz so substitute for half the biscuits. Or use ginger biscuits instead of digestive.

Recipe for cracking chocolate combination of tray bake and millionaires’ shortbread

Makes about twenty

Ingredients

• 250g/9 oz digestive biscuits
• 100g/3½ oz/two-fifths of a brick of butter
• 60g/2 generous tbsps golden syrup (grease the tablespoon with a bit of the butter to measure more accurately)
• 200g/7 oz dark chocolate
• 70g/2 oz/miserly half cup of sultanas
• 3 tsp runny honey
• 75g/3 oz/⅓ cup golden caster sugar
• 120 ml/½ cup of double cream
• Couple of walnuts of butter
• ¼ tsp salt

Method

1. Measure out the cream and put it somewhere where it can warm gently, on the aga warming plate is ideal.
2. Line a baking tin with baking paper
3. Put the biscuits into a large plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin until roughly broken up. Take out half of them and put into a large mixing bowl. Continue bashing the rest until they are just crumbs and add to the rest.
4. Melt the butter, golden syrup and four bands (65g/2 oz) of one of the bars of dark chocolate in a bain marie (or a bowl, suspended over but not touching, a saucepan of water)  and then mix into the biscuit crumbs. Don’t wash up the bain marie – you’re going to use it for the second bar of chocolate. Eat the remaining squares of chocolate yourself!
5. Add the sultanas to the biscuit crumbs and mix.
6. Put the contents of the mixing bowl into the baking tin, even out the surface and put in the fridge
7. Meanwhile make the millionaires’ caramel element by gently warming the honey with the sugar and a teaspoon of water in a small saucepan. Leave for three or four minutes until the sugar has dissolved and started to turn golden.
8. Slowly add about a third of the cream, stirring all the time and taking care as you do so because it tends to splutter. Then add the rest of the cream.
9. Add the butter and salt, bring to the boil and then take off the heat.
10. Once cooled a little pour the caramel mixture over the biscuit layer and return to the fridge.
11. In a bain marie melt the other bar of chocolate.
12. When the caramel layer has set, pour over the melted chocolate.
13. Return again to the fridge. It’s ready to eat as soon as the top chocolate layer has set.

^{This post is dedicated to Kate Pullen, who likes chocolate and whose birthday it is.}