Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar
Make these lovely biscuits (cookies) for your sweetie. Then master the techniques for scones, jellies, and curds. There are recipes here for new takes on traditional British tea fare: deviled egg mayonnaise sandwiches with micro herbs, and cucumber sandwiches with yuzu and chive butter. Next on my list: pbj cookie sandwiches, sour cherry cake, and Veronica’s gingerbreads.
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Recipe excerpted with permission from Afternoon Tea at Home (Ryland Peters & Small)
From Afternoon Tea at Home: Deliciously Indulgent Recipes for Sandwiches, Savories, Scones, Cakes and Other Fancies by Will Torrent, Ryland Peters & Small
Raspberry and Rose Party Hearts
When I was a kid, I used to love eating Party Ring biscuits at friends’ birthdays, always trying to lick the icing off before either eating the biscuit or throwing it away. I’d like to think that my eating habits and tastes have improved since then, and these raspberry and rose party hearts are a delightful twist on a family favorite with a delicate rosewater and fresh raspberry icing, complete with feathered white decoration, of course!
25 g/2 tablespoons freeze-dried raspberries
100 g/ 2/3 cup icing/confectioners’ sugar
200 g/1 ¾ sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon rosewater
zest of ½ lemon
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
250 g/2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
RASPBERRY ICING
125 g/1 cup fresh raspberries
1 teaspoon rosewater
400 g/3 ¼ cups royal icing sugar or 3 cups icing/confectioners’ sugar plus 2 ½ tablespoons meringue powder
crystallized rose petals, to decorate
2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment
a heart-shaped cookie cutter
a disposable piping/pastry bag
toothpicks
Makes 25–30
Tip the freeze-dried raspberries into a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped. Set aside.
Put the icing/confectioners’ sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until pale and light. Add the vanilla extract, rosewater and lemon zest and mix in.
Add the beaten egg yolks a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the chopped freeze-dried raspberries and mix gently to make a smooth dough – do not overwork the dough otherwise the biscuits will be tough rather than crisp and light. Gather the dough into a neat disc, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or until firm.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 2–3 mm/1⁄8 inch. Stamp out biscuits using the cookie cutter and arrange on the prepared baking sheets. Chill for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.
Bake the biscuits on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 12–14 minutes until crisp and starting to turn golden at the edges. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To prepare the raspberry icing, crush the raspberries with a fork, then push the fruit through a fine mesh sieve/strainer into a mixing bowl to remove all the seeds. Add the rosewater, then gradually add three-quarters of the royal icing sugar or icing/confectioners’ sugar plus meringue powder to the raspberry mixture, whisking constantly until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. You many need to add more or less royal icing sugar to achieve the correct consistency.
Tip the remaining royal icing sugar into a bowl and beating well, add enough water to make this the same thickness as the raspberry icing. Spoon the white icing into a disposable piping/pastry bag and snip the end into a fine point.
Taking one biscuit at a time dip the top into the raspberry icing to neatly coat, allow any excess icing to drip back into the bowl. Lay the iced biscuit back onto a clean sheet of baking parchment. Pipe neat thin lines of white icing across the pink heart. Take a toothpick and drag the point through the white icing to create a feathered effect. Repeat with the remaining hearts and attach a crystallized rose petal to each one while still wet. Leave to set firm before serving.
Tracey Zabar's Chocolate Chip Sweets: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes is available here.
A delectable collection of innovative chocolate chip recipes by world-renowned chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers
Tracey Zabar's One Sweet Cookie Cookbook is available here.
A delicious collection of cookie recipes from extraordinary chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers. A great gift sure to delight anyone who loves to bake.
