FOOD FRIDAY - APRICOT SHORTCAKE

“Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors.” - Alice Walker

Let’s have some afternoon tea! First the cucumber sandwiches: Fine white bread with crusts removed and buttered with French Normandy butter, filled with cucumber slices, sliced so thinly you can see through them. Then, some smoked salmon pinwheels and perhaps some raisin scones. Some savoury cake, perhaps? And for the pièce de résistance, how about some apricot shortcake? All washed down with cups of fine, fragrant, oolong tea!

APRICOT & ALMOND SHORTCAKE
Ingredients

250 g unsalted butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

1 egg

1 and 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

1 and 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted

400 g apricot conserve

200 g pure almond meal

100 g icing sugar

Method

1 Preheat oven to 180º C.

2. Line base and sides of a 30 x 20 cm lamington tin with baking paper.

3. Using an electric beater, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Add egg and beat until well combined. Add flours and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

5. Form 1/3 dough into a sausage shape, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 25 minutes or until firm.

6. Press two-thirds of dough into base of prepared tin. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden.

7. Mix almond meal with the icing sugar and add a little water to form a stiff mixture. Spread evenly over cooked dough in tin.

8. Put apricot conserve in a small pan over a medium heat and stir until smooth and spreadable. Stand conserve for 5 minutes to cool slightly, then spread evenly over almond mixture in tin.

9. Take dough from freezer, remove plastic wrap and grate evenly over conserve.

9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Stand tin on a wire rack to cool. When cold, cut into squares or fingers.

Add your favourite recipes using the Linky tool below: