Great British Biscuits: Fruit Shortcake Biscuits

When it comes to biscuits I personally shy away from the store bought ones preferring to eat those that are home-made. However, when it comes to the tripolatas I will at times buy biscuits when I haven't had a chance to bake any. Even then, I'm weary about what to buy as I don't always know exactly what's inside them and imagine that they may not be great quality.

I can spend a few minutes in the biscuit isle trying to decide which to buy and I've realised that my choices all have a theme, they're all classic British biscuits. I'd eaten all of them as a child and was now giving them to my own children, so why not learn to make them myself and give my boys a classic treat that I know has been well made.
Click here for the video version of this recipe.

 

The first of these classics had to be the Fruit Shortcake, it's one of the few biscuits I would actually buy for myself, I just love the chewiness of the currents and the additional sweetness provided by the sugar topping. They are so moreish that I could finish a whole pack myself (if the tripolatas weren't around).

This recipe is so simple and the tripolatas said that they were 'yummy', trying to convince me to give them more well into the evening. I've had to hide the biscuit jar in the top cupboard to stop them helping themselves when I leave the room or sneaking into the kitchen early in the morning. These biscuits have been such a great success that I can't wait to start on the next classic treat.

So here's what you'll need:

115g softened butter

90g castor sugar

1 egg, separated

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

a good pinch of salt

50g currents/raisins, chopped if they're too big

Here's what you'll need to do: makes approx 20

Preheat oven to 150 *C/300 *F

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until the butter is pale and fluffy

2. Add the egg yolk and mix until incorporated

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the butter mix and then add the currents. Mix together using a spoon to start with and then your hands forming the dough into a ball.

4. Flatten the dough into a square and then wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

5. Take the dough out of the fridge and wait a couple of minutes before rolling out the dough until it is about half a cm thick. Use a pastry cutter to cut to your desired shape. These biscuits are usually round but I decided to use a rectangular cutter (4.5cm x 6.5cm) instead.

  

4. Place the biscuit on a lined baking sheet and brush each biscuit with the egg white. Sprinkle each biscuit with sugar (don't be stingy) and then bake for about 15-18 minutes rotating the baking sheet after about 10-12 minutes.

5. When baked, sprinkle more sugar on the biscuits (if desired) and then leave to cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Eat and enjoy.

What are your favourite classic biscuits?