Custard Biscuit Food

CUSTARD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Pre heat the oven to 180C.
• Cream the butter and sugar together.
• Add the egg, self raising flour and custard powder. Mix until smooth.
• Roll out on a floured surface and use a biscuit cutter to cut your biscuits.
• Transfer to a non stick baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Once cool two biscuits can be sandwiched together using butter icing or served individually.

PASSION FRUIT POSSET WITH PISTACHIO-CUSTARD BISCUITS & FRESH PINEAPPLE

Steps:

• Measure 100ml passion fruit pulp into a jug (reserving the rest), add the lime juice, stir, then set aside. Combine the cream and sugar in a medium saucepan set over a low heat and stir for 2 mins to dissolve the sugar. Turn the heat up to medium and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 mins, then remove from the heat and immediately stir in the passion fruit and lime juice mixture. Divide evenly between six 175-200ml cups or glasses - do this quickly, as the mixture will start to thicken. Leave to cool for 10 mins, then chill for at least 4 hrs or overnight. The possets can be made up to three days ahead and chilled.
• To make the biscuits, heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Beat the butter and icing sugar together for 1 min in a medium bowl using a wooden spoon. Stir in the custard powder, flour, vanilla (if using) and chopped pistachios to make a soft dough. Roll the dough into 12 walnut-sized balls and arrange on the baking tray, well-spaced out. Flatten the balls slightly with your palm or the base of a glass, then press down in the centre of each with the tines of a fork. Bake for 10-12 mins until very pale golden. Leave to cool on the tray for 10 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for five days.
• Spoon the remaining passion fruit pulp over the possets and serve with the biscuits and pineapple slices.

CUSTARD & WHITE CHOCOLATE BISCUITS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line 2-3 baking sheets with baking parchment. Put the butter and sugar in a food processor and whizz until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well. Sift together the flour and custard powder, then tip into the bowl and pulse to mix into a dough. Scrape out the food processor and work the chocolate in by hand.
• Roll the dough into balls a little smaller than a walnut, then place on the baking sheets, a little apart to allow for spreading. Press each biscuit down lightly with your fingers.
• Bake for 12-15 mins until lightly golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

RHUBARB & CUSTARD SANDWICH BISCUITS

Steps:

• To make the jam, put the rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice in a pan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 mins, or until the rhubarb has broken down and released its liquid. Blitz using a hand blender until smooth, then simmer for another 5-10 mins until thick and jammy. To test it's ready, run a wooden spoon over the base of the pan - it should leave a trail rather than filling in straightaway. Leave to cool (it will set more as it does), then chill until ready to use. Will keep in a sealed container or jar in the fridge for up to one week.
• To make the biscuit dough, put the butter, both sugars and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to a coarse paste. Scrape down the sides, then add the flour and custard powder and pulse again to a damp, sandy consistency. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and pulse again until the dough comes together into a ball. Add ½-1 tbsp water to bring it together, if needed. Tip the dough out, then wrap and put in the fridge to chill for at least 30 mins.
• Roll the dough out on a floured surface to a 5mm thickness. Stamp out as many biscuits as you can using a 6mm round cutter - you should get about 32 in total.
• Cut circles or hearts out of the centres of half the biscuits using the wide end of a plain piping nozzle (about 1.5cm), or a small heart cutter. Transfer all the biscuits to lined baking sheets, then transfer to the fridge and chill for 15 mins. You can also cook the cut-out shapes to make mini biscuits - if doing so, put these on their own baking sheet.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6, then bake the biscuits for 8-10 mins until golden (5-6 mins for the mini biscuits). Put on a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• Transfer the jam to a piping bag, snip off the end, and pipe a small layer of jam onto the plain biscuits (those without the centres cut out). Or, use a teaspoon. Spread the jam out - it may squidge out of the sides when sandwiching the biscuits, so don't go too far to the edge.
• Sandwich the remaining biscuits over the jam (don't press down too firmly), then transfer to an airtight container in a single layer and leave to set overnight. This ensures the jam won't leak when you bite into them, but they can be eaten straightaway if you can't resist. Will keep in an airtight container for up to three days, but the biscuits will start to soften over time.

HOME-MADE CUSTARD CREAMS

Steps:

• Cream sugar and margarine, then fold in flour, custard powder and vanilla essence until a roll-able dough is formed. Alternatively combine all ingredients in a food processor, and then by hand form the dough.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
• Flour a surface and roll out dough to roughly 1/2 cm thickness. Then cut out shapes, ensuring there is a duplicate of each shape you cut.
• Place shapes on a baking tray covered in baking parchment (or greased and floured), ensuring that one of each pair is put on upside down (i.e. flipped over, rather than rotated). Place in oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
• Blend the icing sugar and margarine, and then use to fill the custard creams once they are cool. Place a bit on the bottom (i.e. non-smooth side) of the first biscuit, then push the bottom of the first biscuit's pair onto this. Don't force together as otherwise the filling will just explode out the sides! Leave to set in a container or eat there and then.