Before my trip to London I emailed William Curley to find out what their bestsellers were. I was told that I really couldn’t pass on the opportunity to try out the Millionaire’s Bar from their Nostalgia range. So when I visited their Belgravia store I picked one up (along with some other treats which will be reviewed later).
It’s a loose product stored behind the glass serving counter and was packaged up for me in a clear plastic bag.
Since a young child I’ve had a passion for Millionaire’s shortbread (though to me it’s better known as caramel shortbread). The love affair started in a quaint tiny tea room called Aunties in Dumbarton, Scotland, and ever since moving down south I’ve been on a quest to find a square of shortcake that tastes the same. Some have gotten close but none has ever quite hit the mark. For me, a delicious millionaire’s shortbread should be a crunchy biscuit base, with an equal amount of thick caramel topped with a generous (but not excessive) amount of chocolate. That’s what I expected the William Curley take to be like, albeit of a distinctly higher quality than your average shortbread.
I was wrong though.
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The bar is described on their website as “traditional all-butter shortbread topped with sea salt caramel and coated in Toscano 66% dark chocolate”. On biting into it the first noticeable thing is how soft the shortbread is. In fact I’d go as far as to say it was more like a light and delicate cake than the dense sickly treat I know it to be. It was unexpected but still delicious nevertheless.
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In fact this allowed the caramel to take centre stage, rather than fighting it out as a duet. The caramel was dense and had a strong flavour, together with a slight hint of salt. This was all encased in a very high quality smooth Toscano dark chocolate which was well rounded and the perfect compliment to the sweet salted caramel and the light cake-like shortbread. I loved the small gold leaf decoration on the top of the bar too, as a nod to the millionaire title.
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Overall this bar tasted nothing like I expected to. It’s definitely a gourmet take on a classic, and whilst it nods to its ancestors William Curley uses high quality ingredients in it to create a delightful treat that is rich, indulgent and perfectly balanced. The cake-light shortbread is the vehicle on which the thick velvety caramel travels, all encased in a shell of high quality dark chocolate. It’s a gourmet take on an indulgent treat and William Curley has pulled it off magnificently.
Disclosure: I paid £3.50 for this William Curley Nostalgia Millionaire’s Bar from their London Belgravia store and wasn’t asked for a review.
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