Earl Grey Shorties
As the weather brightens, there's nothing like afternoon tea in the garden to celebrate the arrival of the sun. These strawberry and earl grey shortbreads are deceptively simple to make, yet look stunning on the table. I've seen lots of recipes for earl grey biscuits, but my problem with them is that they rely on grinding actual pieces of earl grey tea into the dough, which doesn't seem very elegant to me. No one wants to get specks of tea in their teeth, so I devised a way of incorporating the flavour through a cream infusion AND a sugar syrup which adds an eye-catching shine to the top of each biscuit.
The addition of the cream infusion makes for the softest dough, both in texture and colour. Handle it delicately so as not to distort the shapes, and try to reduce the number of times you roll it out by cutting the shapes from the far edge of the dough at all times, maximising the number of biscuits you get from one roll.
The overall look of these reminds me of those religieuses that sit proudly in the window of French patisseries. The flavour combination, however, is quintessentially English. Indeed, May is the start of the British strawberry season - whether you grow your own, pick your own or buy yours from the supermarket, these shorties are a well-deserved treat that beckons in the summer. They're also, incidentally, a great way of celebrating National Biscuit Day UK, which falls on 29 May.
Makes 6 shorties.
Ingredients
For the infusion
1. Gently warm the cream, milk and tea leaves in a small pan. Avoid mixing the leaves (to prevent them breaking up); instead, swish the leaves around in the pan. Don't bring to the boil; remove from the heat as it begins to simmer (when bubbles occur). Once off the heat, leave to infuse for 30 minutes until the liquid is significantly darker. Towards the end of the 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C non fan).
2. After these 30 minutes, press the leaves through a sieve, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard the leaves.
As the weather brightens, there's nothing like afternoon tea in the garden to celebrate the arrival of the sun. These strawberry and earl grey shortbreads are deceptively simple to make, yet look stunning on the table. I've seen lots of recipes for earl grey biscuits, but my problem with them is that they rely on grinding actual pieces of earl grey tea into the dough, which doesn't seem very elegant to me. No one wants to get specks of tea in their teeth, so I devised a way of incorporating the flavour through a cream infusion AND a sugar syrup which adds an eye-catching shine to the top of each biscuit.
The addition of the cream infusion makes for the softest dough, both in texture and colour. Handle it delicately so as not to distort the shapes, and try to reduce the number of times you roll it out by cutting the shapes from the far edge of the dough at all times, maximising the number of biscuits you get from one roll.
The overall look of these reminds me of those religieuses that sit proudly in the window of French patisseries. The flavour combination, however, is quintessentially English. Indeed, May is the start of the British strawberry season - whether you grow your own, pick your own or buy yours from the supermarket, these shorties are a well-deserved treat that beckons in the summer. They're also, incidentally, a great way of celebrating National Biscuit Day UK, which falls on 29 May.
Makes 6 shorties.
Ingredients
For the infusion
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 1 tbsp milk
- 4 heaped tsp earl grey loose-leaf tea (good quality, large pieces - not the fine pieces used in teabags)
- 50g caster sugar
- 90g butter
- 165g plain flour (and extra for rolling the dough)
- 30g caster sugar
- 15ml water
- 1 heaped tsp earl grey loose-leaf tea
- 6 strawberries (medium)
- 200ml double cream
- Mint leaves
- Rolling pin
- Two fluted cutters (two sizes) - mine are labelled as follows: 3 1/16 inch and 1 /14 inch in diameter
- Tea infuser (ball)
- Two baking trays, lined with baking parchment
- Piping bag
- Star piping nozzle
1. Gently warm the cream, milk and tea leaves in a small pan. Avoid mixing the leaves (to prevent them breaking up); instead, swish the leaves around in the pan. Don't bring to the boil; remove from the heat as it begins to simmer (when bubbles occur). Once off the heat, leave to infuse for 30 minutes until the liquid is significantly darker. Towards the end of the 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C non fan).
2. After these 30 minutes, press the leaves through a sieve, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard the leaves.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric whisk to combine the sugar, butter and tea infusion until light and creamy.
4. Add the flour and whisk briefly to combine, and then use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until the flour has been fully combined.
5. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the fluted cutters to cut twelve shapes (six in each size). Place them delicately on the prepared baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
5. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the fluted cutters to cut twelve shapes (six in each size). Place them delicately on the prepared baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
6. Bake the biscuits for 25 minutes. In the final 5 minutes, turn the tray round to ensure an even bake. Remove from the oven and leave to harden on the tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling tray.
7. To make the sugar syrup, fill half a mug with boiling water, add the infuser ball (filled with earl grey leaves) and infuse for 10 minutes. Then, add 15ml of this water to a small saucepan, with the sugar, and warm over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
8. Brush the top of each biscuit twice with the syrup. Let the first layer dry slightly before adding the second.
8. Brush the top of each biscuit twice with the syrup. Let the first layer dry slightly before adding the second.
9. Using an electric handheld whisk, whisk the double cream until stiff peaks form (the cream should be able to hold its own shape). Use a piping bag and medium star nozzle to pipe four stars on each of the large biscuits.
10. Cut each strawberry into four pieces lengthways, and lean each piece between each cream star (see photo below). Then, pipe more cream in the centre, and use this to secure the top (smaller) biscuit. Add small sprigs of mint to decorate.
10. Cut each strawberry into four pieces lengthways, and lean each piece between each cream star (see photo below). Then, pipe more cream in the centre, and use this to secure the top (smaller) biscuit. Add small sprigs of mint to decorate.