How neglectful I have been...

I completely missed out on writing an entry in the month of August and it is not because I haven't spent enough time in the kitchen but rather the contrary. August leading into September has been incredibly frantic with me juggling my role in an increasingly busy commercial kitchen with finding a new home and trying to develop my favourite project at the same time. This juggling act continues...

Anyway, after suffering a period of blog-neglect, I feel compelled to share this luscious little number with you -- a pair of incredibly tender, melt-in-the-mouth shortbread with strawberry flavoured icing sandwiched in between. I named it "Strawberry dream", but later dubbed it "the YanYan biscuit" because they smell so reminiscent of a favourite Japanese snack of mine as a child (and now of my gorgeous little prince whose picture I feature below).

Admittedly, many of my friends with whom I shared my "Strawberry dream" with was not as taken by it as I was, but it remains high on my list of favourite biscuits to eat. If like me, you enjoy delicate sandy-textured biscuits that almost crumble as you pick them up, and have a penchant for nostalgic flavours (like strawberry ice-cream that used to come out of a cardboard carton... gee, now I am really showing my age, aren't I?), then this is the biscuit you have to bake for a trip down memory lane.

strawberry dream

125 g butter, soft and at room temperature
30 g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla essence
130 g plain flour
25 g cornflour
icing
30 g butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp strawberry essence
60 g icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsn milk

makes approx 12 filled biscuits

preheat oven to 150C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper

beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence until very pale and fluffy

add cornflour to the mixture and mix well

add flour and mix until combined

portion dough using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon as a measure

roll into balls with your hands

flatten balls to form 3-inch discs

bake for 20-25 minutes until the base are light golden and tops are firm to touch

allow to cool while you prepare the icing

beat butter, icing sugar and both essence until smooth and creamy

add milk and beat to achieve a softer consistency if necessary

apply a tablespoon of icing to the flat side of the biscuit and sandwich with another.

enjoy