There’s nothing quite like a hot piece of Nanna’s Apple Shortcake. Perfect pastry and a side of ice cream is pretty close to perfection.
Nanna’s Apple Shortcake
Makes 16 pieces
Ingredients:
125g butter, softened
½ cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups plain flour
½ cup cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, core removed and thinly sliced
¼ cup caster sugar (extra)
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp plain flour (extra)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg white (extra)
1 tbsp caster sugar (extra, to bake)
thick cream (or ice-cream), to serve
Method:
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add egg, beating until well combined. Sift plain flour, cornflour and baking powder over mixture. Stir until well combined. Divide dough in half and form into two 3cm-thick discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200C. Lightly grease a 27cm x 17cm x 3cm baking pan. Roll 1 piece of dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Line prepared baking pan with dough. Combine apple, sugar (extra), 1 tbsp lemon juice, plain flour (extra) and cinnamon in a large bowl. Spread apple over dough.
Roll out remaining piece of dough and put on top of apple mixture. Trim dough, sealing edges together. Brush top of shortcake with egg white and sprinkle with sugar (extra, to bake).
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180C and cook for a further 30 minutes or until dough is golden and firm. Cut into squares and serve with thick cream or ice-cream.
Smart Tip:
This very soft biscuit dough breaks easily. If your dough breaks, just piece it together. As it cooks it forms one piece and is easy to cut and remove from the baking pan once cooled.