Spiced Shortbread with Sultanas & Almond

A batch of just-baked shortbread is cooling on the wire tray.  Bill is looking at the biscuits intently.  What‘s he looking for, I want to know? The smallest, the biggest, the ugliest?  Of course it’s the ugliest. He knows I’ll be taking a photo for the blog and saving the best for that.  Stealing a perfect biscuit could mean a rap on the knuckles with the rolling pin for him. But he also wants one while they’re still hot. They may never taste as good. I take a bite of his.  He’s right.  I take the runner-up in the ugly contest. God, it’s divine. Warm, soft but slight crunch at bottom edges, buttery, rich.  Every inch of willpower is needed to hold me back from having another one. Having had it drummed into me from an early age I’m very good at holding back until the baking has cooled.  Not any longer. Hot shortbread is my new love.

I adapted this slightly from a recipe from New Zealand chef, Peter Gordon.  I substituted the rice flour with semolina and used all white flour instead of a mix of wholemeal and white, only because I didn’t have either.  

One day I’ll try the true version and let you know how that turns out.  In the meantime, I’d rate this one of the top shortbread recipes I’ve tried.  I halved the recipe and managed to get 13 or 14 biscuits. I’ve given the full recipe below (my version) which Mr Gordon says yields 20 serves but you may get more than that.  Instead of hand-beating for the first step, you can blitz for a few seconds in a food processor, scrape down and blitz again. 

And don’t forget to try them while they’re still hot!

Spiced shortbread with sultanas & almond

280g butter, at room temperature

180g caster sugar (plus 2 tbsp extra for topping)

2 tsp allspice

80g sultanas

120g semolina

260g plain white flour

roasted almonds, split lengthways in half (optional)

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a baking tray or two with baking paper.

Place the butter, sugar and allspice in a bowl and beat until smooth and well-combined, scraping down the sides once and beating again.

Add the sultanas, semolina and flour and beat until dough just comes together.  Place on a worktop and gently knead for a few seconds. 

Roll the dough out on a gently floured board and cut out biscuit shapes using a cutter.  (Alternatively you can just pull bits from the dough, roll them into balls and press flat with your fingers or a fork onto the tray.)

Using the extra two tablespoons of caster sugar, sprinkle the tops of all the biscuits.  Push a halved almond into the middle of each biscuit. Rest in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking until golden for approximately 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool a few minutes on the tray.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool (or not as the case may be – do try them when they’re hot!).

etcetera ... feasting in Tairua

We stumbled upon this studio & café whilst heading someplace else.  Once inside it was an easy decision to change our allegiance. On a slight rise overlooking the new marina in Tairua on the Coromandel peninsula we were content to linger in this light and airy gallery featuring a showstopper macramé ceiling hanging and walls of stimulating artwork.

First impressions were of a “no-rush” soulful feel to the place and lots of care and relaxed attention by the duo in charge.  Right away you knew that the food would be good.  Even the fact that the coffee came in takeaway cups (but was excellent) was not enough to put me off.

It was rather unfortunate then that we’d not long breakfasted but, to some amusement, three of us “shared” a delicious jumbo-sized berry and custard muffin.  Our sole male, who always seems to manage to pack in a second breakfast, was tempted, and rightly so, by a super-tasty potato rosti, poached egg, hollandaise sauce (just the right amount) and tomato relish.  I was allowed a bite and I have no idea how they got so much flavour into the dish, it was so very good.

We watched as baked goods appeared, fresh from the oven, and wished we could hang around longer for pulled chicken tacos, stacked lasagna and hearty scones but it was time for the drive home.

There are two large scrubbed, rustic tables – one oval and one long communal – but with space for more and there’s always the option of food-to-go or even catering. This place is going to be popular.  Don’t miss it if you’re down that way.  I’ll certainly be back for more.

FeastNZ

128 Paku Drive

Tairua

http://www.feastnz.com/

Dutch Ginger Cake

Last month we were having book club at the great baker’s house and I was eyeing up what I thought was an apple cake. Turns out it was a Dutch Ginger Cake made by the host (not Dutch) and it was lovely.  She muttered some of the ingredients – almonds, butter, ginger.  I don’t know why but I didn’t ask for the recipe.  I think there was too much conversation going on at the time.

I hadn’t heard of this cake before, although I have seen something similar packaged as cake fingers or slices in specialty Dutch shops.

Later, I googled it and found this recipe by one of my favourite cooks, Maggie Beer.  She is such a delight on television exuding warmth and such enthusiasm.

I thought I had preserved ginger in a jar in the cupboard but it turned out to be stem ginger. I drained it and used half as much as was called for in the recipe.  That turned out to be perfect. Whew!

The cake is dense, rich and buttery.  When I pressed the raw dough into the tin I thought it was too buttery and it was just a tad but not enough to detract.  The ginger and almonds absolutely make this cake and I would definitely make it again.

One more thing. This cake is quite shallow (in height, not personality) which isn’t evident in the photo above so don’t be expecting a tall cake.

I think I've just made the deadline to get this into Sweet New Zealand which, this month, is hosted by the lovely Sue at Couscous & Consciousness.

Dutch Ginger Cake

60g whole almonds

185g butter

1 ¾ cup standard flour

¼ tsp salt

2/3 cup (145g) caster sugar

75g stem ginger, drained and chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan bake).

Grease and line the base of a 22cm shallow round tin. (I used a not-so-shallow cake tin.)

Place the whole almonds in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain then squeeze the skin off.  The nuts should slip out easily.  Set aside.

Melt the butter and allow to cool slightly. 

Sift the flour and salt together.  Add the sugar then stir in the chopped stem ginger.

Set 1 teaspoon of the beaten egg aside (to brush the cake).  Stir in the remainder of the egg into the flour, salt, sugar and ginger mix.  Add the butter, mix well into a dough.

Press the dough into the greased tin.  Brush the top of the dough with the teaspoon of egg.

Scatter the almonds on the top and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and firm to touch.

Leave to cool in the tin. 

You can leave as is (I did) or dust with icing or caster sugar to finish.

Crunchy Bran Biscuits

There’s nothing like a biscuit with a dual purpose. You can eat these just as they are - crunchy, nutty (in a no-nuts kind of way) and wholesome – but because they’re not too sweet they make a fine match with cheese.  This was how I preferred them.  A thick smear of good butter (shall I mention Lewis Road again?) and a wedge of Double Cream Brie and it was all good.  So good I had another, and then another.  It reminded me of eating McVitie’s digestive biscuits with butter and cheddar, which I sometimes still do.  Thankfully I don’t have my mother’s fondness for blue cheese and jam toppings but you're welcome to go ahead and try that too! 

I thought it especially nice to have home baked biscuits with cheese instead of the ubiquitous rice crackers, which I used like but now find I’m getting heartily sick of. 

On top of their versatility the bran biscuits are easy to bake and quick to rustle up.  Some time I should try making my own oat biscuits too.

Crunchy bran biscuits 

100g butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup milk

1 cup standard flour

1 cup wheat bran

3 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180°C

Lightly grease two baking trays or line with baking paper.

Beat the butter, sugar and milk together until well mixed.

Stir in the flour, bran and baking powder and bring together to form a dough.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface.  At this stage, because I wanted oblong shaped biscuits, I shaped the dough into a log which I then “squared off” on four sides and cut into thin slices (I have to admit this was a bit fiddly).  If you prefer, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 2mm thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut into round shapes.

Place the biscuits on the trays and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until crispy and brown.

Transfer to a cake rack to cool.