help needed from shortbread aficionados
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- PatsyMFagan
- Posts: 2152
- Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:38 pm
help needed from shortbread aficionados
I am trying to widen my cake baking repertoire as I seem to be getting more and more involved in making cakes as fund raising for the wildlife charity ...
Today, I thought I would try St Delia's version of Scottish shortbread, but taken aback to find that the baking instructions are at 150c for 1 and a half hours !
I haven't used my oven much since I bought my Vortex Mini. and had success with the standard shortbread mix, but I have semolina to use up
Just checking with you experts that this is the correct time before I hold off for today and get prepared to bake other stuff that needs the same time and temperature.
tia
Today, I thought I would try St Delia's version of Scottish shortbread, but taken aback to find that the baking instructions are at 150c for 1 and a half hours !
I haven't used my oven much since I bought my Vortex Mini. and had success with the standard shortbread mix, but I have semolina to use up
Just checking with you experts that this is the correct time before I hold off for today and get prepared to bake other stuff that needs the same time and temperature.
tia
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
Lordy!!
Surely a mistake. I've never baked shortbread for longer than half an hour tops.
Surely a mistake. I've never baked shortbread for longer than half an hour tops.
Food, felines and fells (in no particular order)
- liketocook
- Posts: 2386
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:12 pm
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
Two ways to go with shortbread either low and slow or hottish and fast. Either way the finished biscuits should be pale not brown. Low and slow works best for large thick biscuits, the ones where you bake as a large circle rather than individual fingers or rounds. I usually bake in rounds about 1cm thick and 8cm wide at 170C (fan) for 12 to 15 minutes.
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
Not much help but it amused me - according to my 1946 Scottish cookbook you should only use a coal-fired oven, and the timing is a bit vague, unless "presently" was a Scottish term for a specific amount of time!
My other Scottish book says 15-20 minutes for biscuits at gas mark 2 and 40-45 minutes for a thicker shortcake.
My other Scottish book says 15-20 minutes for biscuits at gas mark 2 and 40-45 minutes for a thicker shortcake.
- liketocook
- Posts: 2386
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:12 pm
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
Sakkarin wrote:Not much help but it amused me - according to my 1946 Scottish cookbook you should only use a coal-fired oven, and the timing is a bit vague, unless "presently" was a Scottish term for a specific amount of time!
My other Scottish book says 15-20 minutes for biscuits at gas mark 2 and 40-45 minutes for a thicker shortcake.
LOL love it, my Home Economics teacher was very "old school" and reckoned coal-fired ovens produced best results for many things. If my memory serves me correctly "presently" in this context would be the time it took for the oven to return to temperature after the door had been opened so would vary a bit. She was a stickler for us doing this before an oven was then turned down.
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
There are plenty of recipes from reliable sources which don't cook for as long eg Mary Berry: https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/th ... hortbread/
If you fancy a bit more flavour, these filled shortbread squares use semolina: https://mainlybaking.blogspot.com/2016/ ... uares.html
I've made them with various other fillings - mincemeat, jam, chopped chocolate bars - search 'biscuits and bars' on my blog.
If you fancy a bit more flavour, these filled shortbread squares use semolina: https://mainlybaking.blogspot.com/2016/ ... uares.html
I've made them with various other fillings - mincemeat, jam, chopped chocolate bars - search 'biscuits and bars' on my blog.
Traditional home baking, and more:
http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/
http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/
- Pepper Pig
- Posts: 4920
- Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:52 pm
- Location: North West London
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
I’ve made Nigella’s with my grandchildren. Dead good.
https://www.nigella.com/recipes/vanilla-shortbread
https://www.nigella.com/recipes/vanilla-shortbread
- miss mouse
- Posts: 712
- Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:08 pm
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
PatsyMFagan wrote:I am trying to widen my cake baking repertoire as I seem to be getting more and more involved in making cakes as fund raising for the wildlife charity ...
tia
Have you considered cooking savouries? They flew off the plate when I was doing this stuff.
If you have a cake everyone likes keep doing it, they won't like the new cake and will be disappointed.
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
I'm afraid like the doubletake I do with the "stretchy chicken" thread, I can't look at "aficionados" without thinking "aficion chips".
- PatsyMFagan
- Posts: 2152
- Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:38 pm
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
Thanks everyone and thanks Sakkarin for a making me smile this morning
- Stokey Sue
- Posts: 8629
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
- Location: Stoke Newington, London
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
We discussed shortbread on a previous biscuit thread
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5046&p=130117&hilit=Shortbread+recipe#p129900
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5046&p=130117&hilit=Shortbread+recipe#p129900
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
Just caught up with this. I did the Delia recipe a while back. Did it to the letter. It was well overdone.
- PatsyMFagan
- Posts: 2152
- Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:38 pm
Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados
aero280 wrote:Just caught up with this. I did the Delia recipe a while back. Did it to the letter. It was well overdone.
thanks for confirming my suspicions Aero
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