Baking? These biscuit recipes - including ideas from Jo Wheatley and John Whaite - are perfect with a cup of tea. Or why not impress your guests Jo Wheatley's rose and chocolate cake.
Ingredients
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 50g caster sugar
- 100g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
- 25g custard powder
- 25g cornflour
For the custard-cream filling:
- 150g icing sugar
- 45g unsalted butter, softened
- 20g custard powder
- 3tsp full-fat milk
You will also need:
- A baking tray lined with baking parchment
- A 6cm square or round cookie cutter
- A piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle
Method
To make the biscuits, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy: this can be done either with an electric hand whisk or in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Sift the flour, custard powder and cornflour into the bowl and mix until thoroughly combined and smooth
Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3
Dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough out to a thickness of 3–4mm. Using the cutter, stamp out biscuits and place them on the lined baking tray. Gather any dough off cuts into a ball, then re-roll and stamp out more biscuits
Pop the baking tray into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes
Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are pale golden and firm. Leave to cool on the baking tray for a couple of minutes then transfer the biscuits to a wire rack until cold
To make the filling, mix all the ingredients together until smooth using a hand-held whisk or in the bowl of a free-standing mixer. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle and pipe the filling onto one half of the biscuits, then sandwich together with the remaining biscuits.