Cakes & Bakes: Vegan gluten-free shortbread

Home-made vegan gluten-free shortbread petticoat tails | H is for Home

Having specialist dietary requirements has become so much easier to live with in the past couple of years. If you’re vegan or gluten-free, you’re thankfully much more catered for in supermarkets and restaurants.

Since moving to Wales, I joined the local Women’s Institute in the village. The members take it in turns at each meeting to make the tea and provide the cake & biscuits. This week, it’s my turn! In the group, there are a few vegetarians, a vegan and someone with Coeliac disease. I decided I’d make two different things; one biscuit-y and one cake-y. The former would be vegan gluten-free shortbread. The latter, I’ll share on here next week.

Doves Farm produce a huge range of flours, one of which is a gluten-free plain white flour. It’s a blend of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat flours. The lack of gluten means that the mixture can be unworkable and the biscuit too crumbly. To combat this, a minuscule amount of xanthan gum is added to the flour to help bind the dough and subsequent biscuit. In addition, I used Trex as the shortening. The brand doesn’t make it apparent on the packaging, however, it is completely vegan.

Floured shortbread mould with ingredients in food processor bowl | H is for Home

I used my favourite antique wooden mould, dusting it with rice flour which is gluten-free.

Round wooden mould with shortbread dough | H is for Home Taking shortbread round out of its wooden mould on to a lined baking tray | H is for Home

The recipe worked well; the dough came together and moulded with no trouble. The round released from the mould easily and slicing it into triangular ‘petticoat tails’ was a breeze.

Home-made vegan gluten-free shortbread round cut into petticoat tails | H is for Home

If I were to make these again, I’d up the sugar content, perhaps sprinkling some granulated over the top just before they went into the oven.

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Vegan gluten-free shortbread
Serves 8
Cook Time
45 min
Cook Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 200g/7oz gluten-free plain Flour
  2. 75g/2⅔oz caster sugar
  3. ¼ tsp xanthan gum
  4. pinch of salt
  5. 1tbsp water
  6. 150g/5¼oz vegan block margarine (e.g. Trex)Vegan gluten-free shortbread ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Line a 15cmx20cm/6"x8" baking tray with parchment
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark6
  3. Put the flour, sugar, xanthan and salt into a blender and pulse to mix
  4. Add the water and pulse to mix it with the flour
  5. Chop the margarine into cubes, add this to the bowl and pulse until the dough holds together
  6. Tip the mixture into your prepared baking tray/mould, pressing it into the corners and smoothing the top
  7. Cover the dough and leave it to rest for 20 minutes
  8. Cut the dough into rectangles. If you're using a mould, turn the dough out on to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cut into portions
  9. Press the prongs of a fork into each slice
  10. Bake for 20 minutes
  11. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully cut the slices again, following the original lines
  12. Press the fork prongs into the holes again
  13. Return the shortbread to the oven and bake for a further 25 minutes
  14. Allow the shortbread to cool on the baking tray for 20 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to finish cooling
  15. Store cold biscuits in an airtight container
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Adapted from Doves Farm
Adapted from Doves Farm
H is for Home Harbinger http://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Muscovado shortbread

Home-made mMscovado shortbread petticoat tails with cup of tea

We’ve had a full on week, so I wanted a Cakes & Bakes recipe that was quick to make. I need to get my nose back to the grindstone ASAP! Biscuits & cookies are always a good choice at times like this, so I rustled up a batch of Muscovado shortbread petticoat tails.

Vintage round wooden shortbread mould with bag of rice flour | H is for Home

When making shortbread, I usually shape it in my vintage wooden shortbread mould. However, you can always use any square or circular cake tin – just make sure the shortbread mixture is evenly distributed and the top flattened. Using the back of a spoon works really well.

Muscovado shortbread mixture | H is for Home

Using Muscovado instead of the traditional caster sugar gives a lovely depth of flavour, aroma and darker brown colour. The addition of a teaspoon of vanilla paste adds extra sweetness & flavour.

Muscovado shortbread mixture in vintage wooden mould | H is for Home

A light sprinkling of Demerara sugar gives an attractive, crunchy top.

Muscovado shortbread sliced into petticoat tails | H is for Home

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Muscovado shortbread
Ingredients
  1. 110g/4oz butter, softened
  2. 50g/2oz Muscovado sugar
  3. 1tsp vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
  4. 175g/6oz plain flour
  5. 1tbsp Demerara sugarHome-made muscovado shortbread ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas mark 2
  2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper
  3. Flour a shortbread mould with rice flour or semolina making sure the crevices have a good sprinkling
  4. Cream the softened butter, Muscovado sugar and vanilla until the sugar is fully dissolved and there are no lumps
  5. Mix in the flour until just combined, trying not to over-work
  6. Turn out the mixture on to a work surface and form into a ball
  7. put the mixture in the mould and push evenly into all the corners and grooves. Roll a rolling pin over the top a few times to flatten
  8. Turn the mixture out of the mould on to the baking tray
  9. Sprinkle the top evenly with the Demerara sugar
  10. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned
  11. Gently score the top to mark the fingers/petticoat tails
  12. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack
  13. Once cool, cut into pieces
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Cakes & Bakes: Shortbread rounds, three ways

Home-made shortbread rounds with mug of tea | H is for Home

Whenever the biscuit stash in our store cupboard reaches critical levels there are normally two obvious options to remedy the situation. Firstly, I can whip out a pre-made refrigerator cookie dough roll from the freezer. Alternatively, if the frozen stock is depleted, I can whip up a quick batch of shortbread.

Vintage wooden shortbread round mould | H is for Home

Justin bought me this vintage wooden biscuit mould a few weeks ago, so it was a great opportunity to use it for the first time to make some shortbread rounds.

Home-made shortbread round with vintage biscuit mould sprinkled with semolina | H is for Home

We think the mould might be Indian so we’ve added a few spices in homage – cardamom, ginger and vanilla.

Three home-made shortbread rounds on a tray lined with parchment paper | H is for Home

The swirl pattern it makes is just beautiful – I needed to sprinkle some polenta into the mould so the dough didn’t stick and it also helped with the definition.

Three home-made shortbread rounds cooling on a wire rack | H is for Home

We liked all three flavours. And it has to be said that, if we hadn’t been trying to think of suitable Indian spices for biscuits, we probably would never have tried cardamom shortbread – yet we both thought that it was very successful. I’ll definitely be making these again soon!

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Shortbread rounds, three ways
Ingredients
  1. 175g/6oz/¾ cup plain flour
  2. 50g/2oz/½ cup cornflour
  3. 50g/2oz/¼ caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  4. 115g/4oz/½ cup butter, chopped
  5. 1 cardamom seed, removed from the pod and ground
  6. ¼ tsp vanilla essence
  7. ¼ tsp ground gingerHome-made shortbread ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas mark 3. Lightly flour the mould with semolina (or plain flour if you don't have it) and line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper
  2. Sift the flour, cornflour and sugar into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour & sugar mixture until it binds together and you can knead it into a soft dough
  3. Divide the dough into thirds (130g/4½oz each) and gently knead the ground cardamom into one, vanilla into the next and ground ginger into the last
  4. One by one, place each ⅓ of dough into the mould and press to fit neatly and evenly. Invert the mould on to the baking sheet using your fingers if necessary to gently to release the dough shape
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until pale golden in colour
  6. Sprinkle the top of the shortbread with a little caster sugar and cool on a baking sheet
  7. Cut the rounds into 'petticoat tails' whilst still warm
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H is for Home Harbinger http://hisforhomeblog.com/

Scottish Shortbread

'Scottish Shortbread' blog post banner

ball of home-made Scottish shortbread dough with antique wooden shortbread mould, vintage pottery mixing bowl and cookery book open on the page with Scottish shortbread recipe | H is for Home

Justin brought home this antique wooden shortbread mould this week. It was only fair that it got tested out for quality control purposes before going on sale in our shop!

uncooked home-made Scottish shortbread dough moulded into a round

I’d made Scottish shortbread biscuits a couple of times recently and they don’t last very long chez H is for Home!

Freshly cooked home-made Scottish shortbread round with vintage Lord Nelson Pottery caster sugar storage jar

I normally use Delia Smith’s recipe where she uses semolina for a bit of a crunch, but I thought I’d try the one in the Great Big Cookie Book which uses cornflour, not semolina, and very pretty moulds that make rounds imprinted with a thistle.

There are lots of different variations – wholemeal flour, rice flour, oatmeal flour… you won’t go far wrong so long as you stick to the ratio of one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour. If you’d like to try the recipe I used, the instructions are below:

freshly cooked home-made Scottish shortbread cut into petticoat tails with a mug of tea

Mmmmmm… shortbread petticoat tails with a mug of tea. I think we may just have to keep the mould!

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Delia Smith's Scottish shortbread recipe | H is for Home

Scottish Shortbread

Ingredients
  

  • 175 g/6oz/¾ cup plain flour
  • 50 g/2oz/½ cup cornflour
  • 50 g/2oz/¼ caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling
  • 115 g/4oz/½ cup unsalted butter chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas mark 3. Lightly flour the mould and line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper
  • Sift the flour, cornflour and sugar into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour & sugar mixture until it binds together and you can knead it into a soft dough
  • Place the dough into the mould and press to fit neatly (I went over it a couple of times with a rolling pin). Invert the mould on to the baking sheet and tap firmly to release the dough shape (I had to give mine a big old bang on our kitchen table!)
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes, until pale golden in colour
  • Sprinkle the top of the shortbread with a little caster sugar and cool on a baking sheet
  • Cut the larger rounds into ‘petticoat tails’ while still warm