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help needed from shortbread aficionados

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help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:40 pm

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 ! :o :!:

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 :roll:

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

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby Seatallan » Sun Jun 05, 2022 2:31 pm

Lordy!! :shock:

Surely a mistake. I've never baked shortbread for longer than half an hour tops.
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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby liketocook » Sun Jun 05, 2022 2:33 pm

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.

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby Sakkarin » Sun Jun 05, 2022 2:40 pm

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.

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby liketocook » Sun Jun 05, 2022 2:56 pm

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.

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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.

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby Suelle » Sun Jun 05, 2022 3:02 pm

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.
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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby Pepper Pig » Sun Jun 05, 2022 3:19 pm

I’ve made Nigella’s with my grandchildren. Dead good.

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/vanilla-shortbread

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby miss mouse » Sun Jun 05, 2022 6:21 pm

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.

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby Sakkarin » Sun Jun 05, 2022 10:28 pm

I'm afraid like the doubletake I do with the "stretchy chicken" thread, I can't look at "aficionados" without thinking "aficion chips".

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby PatsyMFagan » Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:29 am

Thanks everyone :thumbsup and thanks Sakkarin for a making me smile this morning :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:40 am

We discussed shortbread on a previous biscuit thread

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5046&p=130117&hilit=Shortbread+recipe#p129900

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby aero280 » Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:53 pm

Just caught up with this. I did the Delia recipe a while back. Did it to the letter. It was well overdone.

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Re: help needed from shortbread aficionados

Postby PatsyMFagan » Mon Jun 06, 2022 7:34 pm

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 :thumbsup

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