makes
21
prep
45 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
21
serves
preparation
45
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 145 g unsalted butter
- zest of 4 large oranges, finely grated (see Note)
- 130 g caster sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 200 g plain flour
- 20 g baking powder (see Note)
To finish
- 1 kg good quality milk couverture chocolate, 33%
- gold lustre dust, for brushing, optional
Dough chilling time: 1 hour. Setting time: 15 minutes.
Instructions
- Grease and line a square tin, 22 cm x 22 cm, then set aside until required.
- In a bowl, combine the butter, orange zest, caster sugar and salt until there are no lumps of butter remaining.
- Add the egg yolks and mix to incorporate.
- Lastly, add the flour and baking powder and mix until the ingredients just come together as a dough.
- Press the dough evenly into the prepared tin. Wrap with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan forced).
- Remove the plastic wrap and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, or until a light golden colour.
- Allow to cool at room temperature.
- Once cooled, remove from the tin and cut the square into 3 even portions, then cut into 3cm fingers.
- To finish: Cut small pieces of plastic wrap that are slightly larger than the shortbread fingers.
- Temper the chocolate by placing it into a microwave-safe plastic bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between each addition of heat. Once the chocolate reaches 50% solids and 50% liquid, stir vigorously until the solids have completely melted.
- Using a fork, dip 1 shortbread finger at a time into the tempered chocolate before transferring it to a lined tray. Immediately place a piece of plastic wrap over the dipped shortbread to create a textured finish. Repeat with the remaining shortbread fingers. Allow to set at room temperature – this will take at least 15 minutes. (Alternatively, you could place the bars in the refrigerator for a few minutes, if your room temperature is too warm).
- Once completely set, gently remove the plastic wrap to reveal the texture.
- If desired, brush the chocolate with gold lustre dust.
Note
You can replace the orange zest with lemon or lime. Also, Kirsten notes that this may seem like a lot of baking powder, but it’s the right amount to make the shortbreads a little more cake-like.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
