Melting Moments

It's no secret that I adore anything sweet. Dessert is definitely my favourite part of a meal. This week, I decided to make these cute little crumbly biscuits which are sandwiched together with an Italian buttercream. They are a bit different to what I would usually make - I usually opt for cake or cookies - but it's nice to try something new now and again. They are perfect for get together, or if you just fancy a treat!

You will need:

For the biscuit: 

 250g plain flour

180g custard powder

200g granulated sugar

75g rice flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

180g butter

60ml milk

For the buttercream: 

250g granulated sugar

150ml water

4 large egg whites

250g butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method:

• Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, add in the butter with a pastry blender - you can even use your hands for this part - until it resembles crumbs. Stir in the milk until it forms a firm dough, and then wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. After the dough has chilled, roll it out and use a cookie cutter to cut out all of the cookies. You can then pop these in the oven, on a lightly greased tray, for 12-15 minutes. And make sure to let them cool before piping the butter cream.

• For the buttercream, you will need to whip the egg whites at a high speed until it forms soft peaks, then add half of the sugar into the egg white and whip this until it form firmer peaks. Meanwhile, pop the water and the other half of the sugar in a pan and boil on a high heat until it reaches the soft ball stage - this is when you drop a small amount of the syrup into cold water and it makes a soft ball and usually happens at 240 degrees F - When your egg white mixture and syrup is ready, pour the syrup into the egg mixture and whip thoroughly. Keep your mixer going for a while until it has cooled and then slowly add the butter. Pour in the vanilla extract and whip.

Now you have your cooled biscuits and your buttercream ready, you can sandwich them together by matching the biscuits up and piping some buttercream in between.

Enjoy!

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