Hello and welcome back to Bake Experiments - where we play with flavours and techniques. With a bit of baking history & folklore thrown in too.
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Come Bake with Me!
I am beyond excited to be the first guest on
’s brand new stack Sharing Kitchens LIVE.The FIRST episode (click for link!) will be on Friday 16th, at 6pm (GMT+1)/12pm (CST).
We will be kicking off with a light, springtime Lemon & Chamomile Shortbread, as well as enjoying a delicious and easy gin cocktail; The Cherry Pony.
Former wedding cake designer Jenn will also be showcasing her hand-painted pouring fondant technique (that’s hand-painted icing to us Brits), which she demonstrates in this heart warming Easter post.
You are welcome to bake along, follow with our decorating, or just come for the demo and the company! The planned duration will be between 30 and 60 minutes, but feel free to drop in and out.
We would absolutely love to see you there! Click HERE to join us!
Check our Jenn’s post with all the details:
I’ve also included the shortbread and cocktail recipes below. Giving you plenty of time to get your cupboards stocked!
The Recipes - Lemon & Chamomile Shortbread
Our shortbread rounds today are an adaptation inspired by two other foodie substackers.
Some months ago, in a conversation with fellow substacker
of Spice Chronicles, she suggested I experiment with a lower sugar chamomile shortbread.I’m not a tea lover, so I was nervous of attempting this. But I bought a box of chamomile tea, and it sat in the cupboard, just waiting for the time I felt brave enough to experiment.
Last week, while baking from
’s stack as part of my Cooking the Stacks project, I attempted her Chamomile Financiers. And loved these light, floral little treats.
This gave me the courage to work with chamomile in my own baking. And these sweet little Lemon & Chamomile shortbreads were the result.
Three top tips for shortbread
Sift your flour twice Sifting twice aerates your flour, helping create a lighter, and more consistent texture in your shortbreads.
It also helps to break up any clumps, and make it easier to mix with other ingredients. This is vital with shortbread, where you don’t want to overmix and overwork the dough.
Don’t overwork the dough. Shortbread should be tender and crumbly. If the gluten develops too much from overworking, the biscuits can become tough and chewy.
Rest them. Resting your shortbread in the fridge allows the gluten to relax, and the flour to hydrate from the butter and sugar. Both helping to create a tender texture.
Resting also ensures your biscuits don’t spread in the oven, keeping a nice, neat shape.
Some bakers suggest to rest the dough before rolling out too, as it makes the rolling process easier.
Level: Easy
Time taken: 1 hour and 30 minutes (includes baking and resting)
Serves: Makes Approx. 15 biscuits
Tools needed:
Sieve
Stand mixer, or electric whisk
2x bowls
Spatula or wooden spoon
Rolling pin
5cm fluted cookie cutter
Baking tray and baking paper (or silicone mat)
Bench scraper useful (but not essential)
Microplane useful (but not essential)
Palette knife or teaspoon
Ingredients
For the shortbread
140g salted butter
50g icing sugar (confectioners sugar), sifted
170g plain flour, sifted twice. Plus extra for dusting
1 tsp chamomile (I use a teabag), sifted with the flour
Zest of half a lemon
For the icing (Brit version)
200g icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
Juice of Approx. 1 and 1/2 lemons
You can decorate with lemon zest, sprinkled chamomile or chamomile flowers. Thyme flowers are also a nice addition.
OR you can hand paint them. Jenn will be showing you how in our live, and here's her recipe below:
For the Pouring Fondant (US version)
6 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (or agave syrup)
1 teaspoon almond extract
Shortbread Method
For your shortbread, cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy. You can do this in a stand mixer, or with an electric whisk.
Work in your dry ingredients. I use a spatula or wooden spoon. I usually pull the dough together by hand at the end, making sure not to overwork it.
At this stage, you can rest your dough for around 20 minutes. If it is a warm day, you can rest your dough in the fridge to firm up the butter. This will help make the rolling process easier.
On a floured surface, knead your dough a little and then gently roll out to around 1/2 cm thick.
Using your cookie cutter, cut into your little rounds and place on a lined tray, space them a little apart as some spreading will happen.
If you are diligent with rerolling your scraps, you should get around 15 biscuits. Do be careful not to overwork your dough though, pull it back together gently.
Now, rest in the fridge for around half an hour. This step is really important, as it helps prevent the shortbread from spreading, and helps them keep their shape.
Preheat your oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/Gas Mark 3.5.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Leave them to cool on a wire rack. If you want to keep your shortbreads lower sugar, you can stop here. They are delightful little nibbles as they are.
But if you want to decorate, carry on.
The icing (Brit Version)
Simply mix your icing sugar with your lemon juice.
Add the juice in slowly until you get the right consistency. It should be pourable, but not too thin.
Ice your biscuits using a palette knife, or a teaspoon, before sprinkling on your flowers and lemon zest. Leave to set.
Pouring Fondant (US Version)
Place sugar in saucepan.
Combine the water and corn syrup/agave.
Add to sugar and stir until well-mixed. Cook over low heat but don't allow the temperature of your mixture to exceed 100°F/40°C.
Remove from heat and stir in your almond extract.
Now your pouring fondant is ready to get icing! Check out Jenn’s post with all the details.
I’m told shortbread can last up to two weeks in an air tight container. But I’ve never had shortbread last long enough to test this!
The ‘Cherry Pony’ cocktail
Ingredients
1x cocktail cherry (I like Opies)
1x measure of good quality gin (I like Hendricks)
5x measures ginger ale (I like Fever Tree), chilled
Slice of lemon
2x ice cubes
Tools
A shot measure
A veg peeler
Lighter (optional)
Serve in a chilled Coupe champagne glass
Place your cherry into the bottom of the chilled glass and top with your shot of gin.
Pour over your chilled ginger ale.
Squeeze over your lemon slice and add to your drink, giving a gentle stir.
Using a small knife or grater, peel a thin strip of lemon rind, twist it gently. Rub it on the edge of the glass before hanging it over the edge of the glass.
This isn't essential, but if you like, you can use a lighter to gently warm your lemon rind, to help draw out the oils.
Follow with your ice cubes.
Want to join the Live? Marvellous! Click HERE
I’m so excited Shell! If anyone needs full details, please let me know or find information at Sharing KITCHENS LIVE. (Details being posted tomorrow.)
https://open.substack.com/pub/sharingkitchenslive
Hope to see everyone’s names popping up on our screens!🥰
Shell this shortbread looks and sounds delightful!