Blackberry Shortbread

Wotchers!

A very autumnal recipe for you this week – Blackberry Shortbread.

There’s no bells or whistles, I just fancied something simple, with the brightness of fresh fruit.

You could use this serving suggestion with a number of different fruits, but I thought blackberries most appropriate for the season, as they are the last soft berries of the year. Plus they look like jewels!

You can also use any shortbread recipe if you have a particular favourite or don’t fancy the one below. The recipe I chose isn’t particularly special, but with the baking powder and eggs, it has a lovely open and delicate texture. I also decided to use an unusual flour I found on the supermarket shelves this week: wholemeal Kamut flour from Doves Farm.

To quote from the bag:

“Kamut® grain is a khorasan wheat….said to be the wheat of the Pharoahs.”

It’s a very fine flour, producing a wonderfully golden shortbread biscuit with a nutty, almost malty flavour. There are three recipes to try printed on the pack itself and you could make them all with just one bag.

Alternatively, make the recipe below with ordinary flour – it’s all good.

Blackberry Shortbread

90g soft brown sugar
2 large yolks
100g unsalted butter – softened
110g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon

blackberry jam or jelly

300g fresh blackberries

icing sugar for dusting

250ml whipping cream (optional)

• Whisk the sugar and yolks together until pale and creamy.
• Add the softened butter and mix thoroughly.
• Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together and fold into the egg mixture.
• Mix in the lemon zest.
• Press mixture evenly into a baking tin and smooth over. I used my loose-bottomed flan tin (35cm x 12cm), lined with buttered foil, so that I could cut fingers of shortbread widthways.
• Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 160°C, 140°C Fan.
• Remove the cling film from the shortbread and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Turn the tin around halfway through to ensure even colouring.
• As soon as the biscuit is cooked, remove from the oven and cut into fingers (or slices or wedges, as you prefer). Leave to cool in the tin. DO NOT attempt to move the biscuit pieces until completely cold – they will crumble to pieces.
• When the biscuit has cooled, spread each piece with a layer of blackberry jam and stand the fresh blackberries on top.
• Dust with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream and any extra blackberries.