Tag Archives: Shortbread

Cardamom Flavoured Fig Rolls

10 Wednesday Jan 2024

Posted by in Sweet Things

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I made this recipe last week to take to a party, my thought was to make fig rolls using the preserve in the previous post sandwiched between cardamom flavoured shortbread. Good plan.
I have successfully made shortbread countless times, but always using plain white flour with the semolina, this time I decided to use wholemeal spelt flour. The flavour was excellent, so much so that my friends have asked for the recipe, but the texture was quite different to usual. The wholemeal flour doesn’t absorb the butter quite the same as white flour, so the shortbread was more crumbly and brittle than I would have liked, and some of the shortbread melted away from the cute little rounds that I had cut out.
So making the rolls again, I cooked them in one piece in a tray and then cut them up once they were out of the oven but still quite hot, and this worked well.

1 jar caramelised fig preserve

For the shortbread –

225 grams wholemeal spelt flour

100 grams fine semolina

225 grams unsalted butter at room temperature

100 grams castor sugar

the seeds from 15 green cardamoms

Cut the butter up into a bowl and add the sugar, cream together until smooth.

In another bowl mix the flour, semolina and cardamom

Add about a third of the flour mix into the butter and mix well to blend.

Add another third of the flour mix and blend this in, then the last third.

As you are getting to the last if the flour you will have to knead it into the dough.

Work the dough into a round ball, flatten a bit and cut it into two equal parts.

Line a 17 cm x 27 cm baking tray with baking parchment.

Roll out one of your pieces of dough to fit the tray. This is easiest between two sheets of cling film. You may have to do some trimming and patching to get a perfect oblong, the dough will stick back together in the baking.

Spread over this an even layer if the preserved figs.

Rollout the other half of the shortbread and lay over the figs. Prick all over with a fork.

Bake at 125C fan oven, 150C electric or gas mark 3 for 40 minutes.

Cut the rolls into the sizes that you like while the rolls are still warm and soft and the leave to go cold completely before removing from the tray.


A Mid-Week Dinner – Continued

27 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by in Starters, Sweet Things, Vegetable Dishes

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For the – probably one of you – who has been waiting for the rest of the recipes for this dinner, here at last they are. IMG_1518 SPINACH WITH PINE NUTS AND RAISINS

For 4

25 grams pine nuts

A good bunch of fresh tender spinach

Olive oil 25 grams small golden raisins

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Firstly toast the pine nuts until a golden brown in a thick based pan over a low heat. Shake the pan from time to time to turn the nuts.

Wash and drain the spinach.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a shallow pan. Add the spinach, cover and let wilt for a couple of minutes over a low heat.

Add the pine nuts and raisins and stir to mix.

Season then cover the pan again and leave to cook for about five minutes.

Serve on hot plates.

PRAWN WITH GARLIC, LEMON AND PARSLEY

For 4

20 medium sized peeled prawns

1 large clove garlic

Olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

Chopped flat leaved parsley

Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a frying pan.

Add the chopped garlic and fry until light brown.

Add the prawns and cook quickly on a high heat until opaque and slightly browned.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir to collect any brownings at the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle in the parsley and serve immediately on a hot dish.

IMG_1525 CARAMELISED FIG CUSTARDS

FOR 4

The only remotely complicated thing about this recipe is remembering to cook the custards early enough that they can cool completely. You can of course cook them the day before they are needed.

I will point out also that it is not an error that the custard does not have sugar added to it. There is enough sweetness in the caramelised fig to balance the less sweet custard.

4 tablespoons caramelised fig jam

Butter for greasing your pots

2 eggs

200 ml full fat milk

Few drops vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 140C

To cook this you will need individual ovenproof pots for the custard. Most crockery is oven proof provided you don’t heat or cool it too rapidly. I used some glass coffee cups to cook my custards.

Grease the pots with butter and then put a tablespoon of the fig jam in the bottom of each.

Break the eggs into a jug and whisk lightly to mix.

Add the milk and vanilla essence and whisk a bit more to mix this.

Pouring through a sieve to remove any solid bits in the egg, pour the custard into the pots.

Put the pots into a deep baking dish and add boiling water to the dish to come about 2cm up the pots. This prevents the custards getting too hot and burning on their bases.

Put in the oven and leave to cook for about an hour until the custards are just set.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

To serve slide a thin knife around the edge of the custard, put a small plate on top of the pot and invert the whole lot. You may have to give the custard and encouraging shake. If any of the jam stays in the pot, simply spoon neatly on top of the custard.

MINI CARDAMOM SHORTBREADS

100 grams plain flour

40 grams fine semolina

Quarter teaspoon ground cardamoms

30 grams sugar

100 grams butter

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Cut the butter into small pieces into the flour mix and rub in.

Bring the mix together in a firm dough.

On a floured surface roll the dough out to just under a centimetre thick.

If you have a very small round cutter – ideally about 3cm diameter – then cut into small biscuits. Otherwise cut into small squares or lozenges.

Bake at 150C for about an hour until pale golden.