MEMBER LOGIN
MEMBER LOGIN

My Recipes

Shrewsbury Biscuits with Lemon Gin

As daft as this may sound I would never have been brave enough to adapt a recipe a few years ago, I would look at what ingredients I need and if there was something missing I would just close the recipe book and not bother. 

Now I’m a totally different baker and have the courage (does that sound daft) to try something new or adapt a flavour if I can. Don’t get me wrong there are somethings that need to be precise like certain breads or macarons but in the main with cakes and biscuits then I’d give it a go.

A few examples would be a chocolate cake recipe I make says use buttermilk, and it is rare that I would actually have buttermilk in the house, so I make a replacement with lemon juice and full fat milk (see my buttermilk crunch muffins for how), but I have also used Philadelphia cream cheese instead and that’s delicious too.

My recent recipe for my chocolate chip cookies is made with the addition of orange zest or even mint chocolate rather than just milk chocolate and both are amazing.

On my recent Portuguese tart class, we were talking recipes and one of the bakers had also created croissants on zoom with me months ago, she shared a tip for the extra almond flavour, saying she has started adding slices of marzipan as well as the frangipane and its amazing so that’s what I’ll be adding to mine next time too.

My most recent adaptation was adding lemon gin to Shrewsbury Biscuits, mainly because I have just bought a bottle of lemon gin for a recent wedding cake and also because I love adding alcohol to my bakes. So with biscuit week coming up on the new series of the Great British Bake Off I thought I’d share this with you too:

Shrewsbury Biscuits with Lemon Gin

Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 grams plain flour
  • 100 grams unsalted softened block butter
  • 100 grams caster sugar
  • 20 grams caster sugar (for sprinkling before you bake)
  • Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 1 medium free-range egg
  • 50 grams currants
  • 10 mils lemon gin

Instructions
 

  • Add the currants and lemon gin into a bowl, mix and allow to soak for 10 minutes, the currants should soak up the gin.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until pale and fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.
  • Sieve the flour to remove any lumps and then stir into the mixture until all the flour is mixed in.
  • Lastly add in the soaked currants until all combined and make a ball shape with it.
  • Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for around 1 hour. This mixture needs to be really chilled, so it makes it easier to roll out.
  • Heat the oven to 160 degrees fan oven / gas mark 4.
  • Line one or 2 baking trays with baking paper / greaseproof paper (you can use all the mixture or just some and leave the rest in the fridge until you need it.)
  • Flour the work surface. because the mixture can be sticky I cut the mixture into 3 pieces and then roll out a section at a time.
  • Roll out the dough to around 5mm thickness and using a fluted pastry cutter cut out each biscuit and add it to your baking tray.
  • The off cuts can be squeezed back together and re-rolled but if it gets too soft wrap it back up in cling film and put it back in the fridge to firm up. When you have cut out as many as you want, sprinkle with the extra caster sugar.
  • Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are firm and pale brown. When baked, put the baking tray on a cooling rack for a few minutes to cool slightly and firm up. Then after a few minutes transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Grab a cuppa and enjoy!  Let me know if you make these, love Caroline xxx

As daft as this may sound I would never have been brave enough to adapt a recipe a few years ago, I would look at what ingredients I need and if there was something missing I would just close the recipe book and not bother. 

Now I’m a totally different baker and have the courage (does that sound daft) to try something new or adapt a flavour if I can. Don’t get me wrong there are somethings that need to be precise like certain breads or macarons but in the main with cakes and biscuits then I’d give it a go.

A few examples would be a chocolate cake recipe I make says use buttermilk, and it is rare that I would actually have buttermilk in the house, so I make a replacement with lemon juice and full fat milk (see my buttermilk crunch muffins for how), but I have also used Philadelphia cream cheese instead and that’s delicious too.

My recent recipe for my chocolate chip cookies is made with the addition of orange zest or even mint chocolate rather than just milk chocolate and both are amazing.

On my recent Portuguese tart class, we were talking recipes and one of the bakers had also created croissants on zoom with me months ago, she shared a tip for the extra almond flavour, saying she has started adding slices of marzipan as well as the frangipane and its amazing so that’s what I’ll be adding to mine next time too.

My most recent adaptation was adding lemon gin to Shrewsbury Biscuits, mainly because I have just bought a bottle of lemon gin for a recent wedding cake and also because I love adding alcohol to my bakes. So with biscuit week coming up on the new series of the Great British Bake Off I thought I’d share this with you too:

Shrewsbury Biscuits with Lemon Gin

Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 grams plain flour
  • 100 grams unsalted softened block butter
  • 100 grams caster sugar
  • 20 grams caster sugar (for sprinkling before you bake)
  • Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 1 medium free-range egg
  • 50 grams currants
  • 10 mils lemon gin

Instructions
 

  • Add the currants and lemon gin into a bowl, mix and allow to soak for 10 minutes, the currants should soak up the gin.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until pale and fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.
  • Sieve the flour to remove any lumps and then stir into the mixture until all the flour is mixed in.
  • Lastly add in the soaked currants until all combined and make a ball shape with it.
  • Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for around 1 hour. This mixture needs to be really chilled, so it makes it easier to roll out.
  • Heat the oven to 160 degrees fan oven / gas mark 4.
  • Line one or 2 baking trays with baking paper / greaseproof paper (you can use all the mixture or just some and leave the rest in the fridge until you need it.)
  • Flour the work surface. because the mixture can be sticky I cut the mixture into 3 pieces and then roll out a section at a time.
  • Roll out the dough to around 5mm thickness and using a fluted pastry cutter cut out each biscuit and add it to your baking tray.
  • The off cuts can be squeezed back together and re-rolled but if it gets too soft wrap it back up in cling film and put it back in the fridge to firm up. When you have cut out as many as you want, sprinkle with the extra caster sugar.
  • Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are firm and pale brown. When baked, put the baking tray on a cooling rack for a few minutes to cool slightly and firm up. Then after a few minutes transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Grab a cuppa and enjoy!  Let me know if you make these, love Caroline xxx

You might also like...

View all Recipes