A simple and delicate recipe, for melt-in-the-mouth shortbread – perfect for a relaxing afternoon tea.
Makes about 20 pieces
And this is Caroline…. She will be taking you through the recipe!
Ingredients
200g plain white flour
Pinch of fine sea salt
40g ground rice flour
75g caster sugar (plus extra for decorating)
5-10 drops Castle Farm HOT Lavender Essence
One heaped teaspoon of Castle Farm Culinary Lavender Flowers
175g unsalted butter, from a chilled 250g block
Method
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and stir in the ground rice flour and sugar
Method
Take your butter from the fridge, and while your bowl is on the weighing scales, grate in 175g of butter from the block.
Sprinkle in the Lavender flowers, and the drops of HOT Lavender Essence.
Work it all quickly into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Press the mix into a 20cm square baking tin and level the top
Chill in the fridge for about an hour.
Then, heat the oven to 140’C fan (160’C/gas 3).
Bake the shortbread for 40 minutes until light golden.
Remove from the oven and prick all over with a fork, then mark into 20 pieces, cutting right through to the bottom of the tin.
Dust caster sugar all over the top, and leave the shortbread to cool before removing from the tin.
Then sit back and enjoy with a relaxing cup of tea!
Chef’s Tip: Pressing the shortbread into the tin is the key to getting the right consistency- too hard and the biscuits will set like concrete, too soft and they will be very crumbly! Firmly pressing another baking tray on top of the first one is usually the best way to get it right.
If you are looking for some more Lavender recipe inspiration – try ITV Phil Vickery’s recipe – he whipped up Lavender & Cardamon Shortbreads and Lavender Scones in our Lavender fields last Summer!
