Rhubarb Strawbs 'n' Cream loaded shortbread
Dessert doesn’t get any better than this. The combination of crisp, crumbly thyme and lemon shortbread paired with rhubarb, strawberries and whipped cream is simply heavenly.
SERVING SUGGESTION: Whip cream to soft peaks, then fold in icing sugar and vanilla. Divide shortbread between plates and top with a generous amount of whipped cream and flash-roasted rhubarb and strawberries. Drizzle with syrup from the roasted fruit.
INGREDIENTS
500ml cream 2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or seeds of 1 vanilla bean pod
12–18 thyme and lemon shortbread
1 quantity flash-roasted rhubarb and strawberries
FLASH-ROASTED RHUBARB & STRAWBERRIES
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
4 large stalks rhubarb, cut into 3–4cm lengths
400–500g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
3 tablespoons caster sugar
1 orange
METHOD
Preheat oven to 200°C. In a baking dish, toss together rhubarb, strawberries and sugar.
Roast for 10–15 minutes until rhubarb is tender (test with the sharp tip of a knife).
Cut orange in half and squeeze over fruit in the baking dish. Allow fruit to cool.
THYME & LEMON SHORTBREAD
These shortbread are buttery, delicate, crumbly and crisp and spiked with lemon and thyme.
Makes about 18 shortbread
INGREDIENTS
175g plain flour
1⁄3 cup caster sugar
75g fine polenta or semolina
1 free-range egg yolk
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2–3 teaspoons finely chopped thyme leaves
175g cold butter, cubed
METHOD
Preheat oven to 150°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Combine flour, caster sugar, polenta/semolina, egg yolk, lemon zest and thyme in a large bowl. Add butter and use your fingertips to gently rub it in until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, place ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Bring dough together with your hands and shape into two balls. Wrap balls in cling film and refrigerate for 5 minutes to firm up a little.
On a clean, dry, lightly floured surface, roll a ball of dough out to 0.5–0.75cm thickness. Use a cookie cutter (approximately 6cm diameter) to cut into rounds. Whilst quite delicate to work with, shortbread dough is very forgiving. So, if the mixture starts crumbling or breaking up, don’t fret as you can just press and patch it back together with your fingers — you can even add leftover bits of dough to help patch up cracked bits!
Transfer to the prepared trays with the help of a metal fish slice or edge of a knife. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until shortbread is light golden around the edges. Swap the trays around halfway through cook time, so that the batches cook evenly.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on the trays for a few minutes. Gently transfer shortbread to a wire rack to cool completely and let them crisp up. Store in an airtight container or cake tin — they will keep for a few weeks if they don’t get gobbled up before!
Recipe extracted from Vegful By Nadia Lim
Publisher: Nude Food Inc Ltd
