14 May 2012

Jubilee Themed Baking










It is not long now until the Queen’s Jubilee which has inspired me to make some British themed goodies.

I had a look on the internet to get the creative juices flowing and stumbled across BakingMad. They had a special section on Union Jack cakes which got me thinking about making some Union Jack biscuits.

I used the recipe for Mini Me’s birthday party last year and they were a resounding success. They were devoured within minutes which resulted in complaints from my mum as she wasn’t quick enough to grab one.

Thinking about the best of British Cakes, I thought I would make some vanilla cupcakes using my basic sponge mix (omitting the baking powder) and topped a mascarpone frosting with strawberries and blueberries to keep with the British colours. I was pleasantly surprised to see a recipe for a low calorie Victoria Sponge cake which would be great for those who still want to celebrate but watch their weight at the same time.




Double Biscuits

Ingredients:

125g Butter
75g Caster Sugar
1 Egg Yolk, beaten
200g Plain Flour, sifted
Pinch of Salt
450g Royal Icing Sugar
Food Colouring – your own preference
Smooth Jam – any flavour that you fancy

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 160 Fan Assisted Oven / Gas Mark 4. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Put the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly blended.
  2. Stir in the beaten egg yolk. Add the sifted flour and salt, and then mix with a round-bladed knife until the mixture forms clumps. Gather the dough together with your hands.
  3. Lay on a sheet of clingfilm on a work surface. Cover with another sheet of clingfilm and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Remove the top sheet of clingfilm and cut the dough using your choice of cutter.
  4. Put the biscuits on the baking trays, leaving a gap between each one then bake for 12-13 minutes until golden brown. Leave on the trays for 5 minutes or until hard, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. Put 75ml cold water in a bowl and add the royal icing and a couple of drops of food colouring. Beat with a spoon for 5 minutes or until smooth.
  6. Spread over only half of the biscuits using a spoon and leave to set.
  7. On the remaining biscuits, spread a small amount of jam then place the iced biscuit on top.

4 comments:

  1. So enjoyed this post! those cookies are beautiful, I can't wait for the Jubilee either!
    Mary x

    ReplyDelete
  2. You should enter these into Fleur's competition. You can find the details here. Just add the logo to your post and follow the instructions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The biscuits look fun for a Jubilee celebration. Love the fruity cupcakes too, that might be as far as I get with Jubilee baking, not much enthusiasm for the Jubilee in our house at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the lovely comments. The biscuits took me an hour to ice which is why I went for simple vanilla and fruit cupcakes.

    ReplyDelete