Shortbread Squares with Chocolate Fudge and Marshmallow Topping

I decided I would take part in this month's Random Recipes, hosted by Dom and Belleau Kitchen - and because it was the 30th month of the challenge, he asked us to choose the 30th recipe book on our shelf and turn to page 30, and cook whatever was on that page. Simple, right? Unfortunately the first recipe I picked in this way was baked eggs in wild mushroom tartlets, from Delia Smith's Winter Collection. Aside from the fact that it is the hottest day of the year and not really a time for winter recipes, I absolutely hate mushrooms, and my boyfriend won't eat them either - so there was really no point me making this recipe. Rather than turn the page or choose another recipe, I decided the best way to stick to the spirit of the random choice was to pick the next recipe book from my shelf, and turn to page 30 in that book. The next book was called Quick and Easy, and on page 30 I found... mushroom soup. I wonder if someone is having a laugh at my expense?! I was pretty sure there would be no mushrooms in the next recipe book along, as it was Tea with Bea... and page 30 offered up rocky road fudge bars. So with apologies to Dom for not quite sticking to the letter of the challenge, here's what I made!

I have changed the name because I left out the nuts (as my boyfriend doesn't like them) and adapted it a bit and I didn't feel like the resulting bake really was a rocky road. It did taste very nice though! Also, the quantities given in this recipe make a lot; I would halve the quantity if I made this again.

You need:
For the shorbread base:
120g caster sugar
500g butter, softened
500g plain flour

For the fudge:
150g butter
100g golden syrup
150ml double cream
150g plain chocolate
500g caster sugar

Mini marshmallows to decorate
You will also need a sugar thermometer.

Beat the butter and sugar the fold in the flour. Then transfer the mixture to a greased and lined brownie pan or rectangular baking tray with deep sides; press down to cover the base and refridgerate for 10 minutes.

Then bake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and the mixture is cooked. Leave to cool in the pan.

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the fudge filling and melt over a medium heat.

Then turn up the heat and using a sugar thermometer, cook until the temperature reaches 120C. Be careful as you give it an occasional stir as this really is very hot!

The fudge will start to thicken as it reaches the right temperature.

Carefully pour into a bowl - the recipe stated to use a metal bowl, but I didn't have one, so I used pyrex instead. Stir carefully and allow it to cool a little but not too long as you don't want it to set.

Pour over the shortbread base

Sprinkle over mini marshmallows. I found that the fudge cooled very quickly and I had to press down the marshmallows with the back of a wooden spoon to get them to stick.

Remove from the pan - here you can see the deep sides

Cut into squares - the shortbread is a bit crumbly but these do hold together pretty well.

I'm sending these to Random Recipes as I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

I'm also sending these to Alphabakes, the challenge I co-host with Ros from the More Than Occasional Baker. Each month we choose a letter at random and ask for submissions where the name of the bake or the main ingredient begins with that letter. This month I am hosting and have chosen the letter F, so the chocolate fudge on these shortbread squares makes this bake eligible.

I took these along to a barbecue at my boyfriend's house, where they went down very well, so I am also sending these to Four Seasons Food, as their theme this month is barbecue and barbecue side dishes. Which to me includes dessert!