Orange Shortbread Biscuits with Cream and Curd filling

As you may have seen in some of my recent posts, I have been making and using orange curd, specifically Seville Orange curd, although you can make it with ordinary oranges too - it just doesn't have the same bite to it.   I thought you'd like to see how far you can take this curd, if you had any left over, or you could make some anyway - it's very easy!

Chocolate scribbles are ridiculously easy to make, and give any pudding a facelift - so very  Masterchef!  Shortbread biscuits should be crisp and delicate, with a good snap to them.  The orange peel gives a hint of flavour, and the cream and curd combination is just heavenly - at least, the priests I gave them to thought so - and they surely ought to know....

Orange Shortbreads with cream, orange curd and chocolate scribbles

Orange Shortbread Biscuits with Cream and Orange Curd

5oz/150g plain flour

3 level tbsps rice flour – if no rice flour, substitute plain flour

2oz/50g caster sugar

4oz/100g butter at just above room temperature

Zest of half an orange

Preheat oven to 170deg C/325 deg F.    Grease a large baking sheet.   Mix together the flours and the sugar.    Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients.   It will form a dryish dough, which you knead a little before rolling (this stretches the gluten and makes the biscuit stick together better).  

Roll out the dough between two pieces of greaseproof parchment, about .5cm thick.   Cut circles, about 2-3”, 50-75mm, and transfer using a fish slice to the baking sheet.  When you gather up the left overs and roll them out again, try not to over-knead it, as the final result isn’t as good (what Mary Berry would described as “overworked” – you know the feeling!)

Bake until firm and golden – the butter in the mixture will brown while your back is turned, so check it frequently after 15 minutes or so.      When they are done, dredge them lightly with caster sugar before they have cooled.  

This quantity of ingredients made about 16 or so biscuits.    

Biscuit Stacks

Pile the biscuits up in threes with a generous sandwich of curd and cream - approx 1/2 pint/10floz/300ml double cream, curd to taste.   Top with a chocolate scribble. 

Chocolate Scribbles

Line a baking tray with non-stick parchment.  Melt approx 20z/50g dark chocolate in the microwave, pour it into a piping bag and then (quickly!) make little doodles on the parchment.  Chill until set.  Resist the temptation to test one….

Orange Curd

Grated rind and juice of 2 oranges

2 eggs, beaten

4oz/110g butter

4oz/110g sugar  

The best way to make this is in a double saucepan (one with a separate chamber below for the boiling water), but a heatproof bowl (Pyrex) on a pan of simmering water works just as well, if a little more slowly. 

Put all the ingredients in the bowl/saucepan, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.   Carry on heating it, stirring from time to time, until the mixture has thickened – it coats the back of the spoon, and then becomes more difficult to stir.  Strain through a sieve (important – it gets rid of any lumpy bits of egg) into small (clean) jars.   Cover the jars as per jam – with waxed discs and cellophane tops.  Alternatively, as you will be using this up quickly, cut circles of parchment to fit the jars, and then put the lids back on firmly.