Shortcrust Cookies with Raspberry Cream

Free

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30 min (plus baking and resting time at least 3 h)
Quantity: About 10 cookies
Type: Classic Biscuits
Dietary requirements: Nut-free Cream-free Vegan

Ingredients

DOUGH

150 g margarine block at room temperature

150 g powdered sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

2.5 g salt

40 g plant-based milk

240 g all-purpose flour

70 g potato starch

5 g baking powder

RASPBERRY CREAM

150 g fresh raspberries

25 g water

30 g granulated sugar

18 g corn starch

6 g rice starch

2 g lecithin

17 g margarine block

FRESH RASPBERRIES 10

Crisp lemon shortcrust cookies made as discs, then joined and filled with a raspberry cream, with a fresh raspberry in the center. A vegan treat with a balanced contrast between the citrus note of the shortcrust, the acidity of the raspberries and the creaminess of the filling. Perfect as filled tea cookies, individual desserts or an elegant display idea. To make them gluten-free follow the recipe for this shortcrust here.

Method

You can make this recipe in a planetary mixer with the paddle or by hand in a bowl with a spatula. In the bowl weigh the margarine at room temperature. Add the lemon zest. Add the sugar and salt.

Mix by hand or with a spatula for a few minutes until you obtain a creamy mixture; there should be no pieces of margarine and everything must be well blended. Pour a first portion of the milk; the milk must be at room temperature.

Mix, add 2 tablespoons of flour and continue to mix, then add the rest of the milk.

Sift the dry ingredients together, then flour, starch, baking powder and pour them into the bowl, mix until you form a homogeneous dough.

Form a rectangular dough about 2 cm thick, wrap it in cling film and let it rest for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 170˚ fan. Dust the work surface with a little flour, roll the shortcrust to about 0.5 cm with a rolling pin. From time to time add flour on both sides so the dough does not stick to the work surface.

With a 6 cm diameter round or flower-shaped cutter obtain 20 cookies.

Transfer all the cookies to a baking tray with baking paper or silicone mat. Bake at 170˚C fan for about 20 minutes, until golden. Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. To keep the shortcrust crisp longer I recommend waterproofing, read here how to do it. With leftover dough lightly rework, rest again in the fridge then roll out and cut more cookies. Proceed to prepare the raspberry cream.

Weigh the raspberries in a jug and blend until you obtain a purée. Place a sieve over a saucepan, pour the purée and strain to remove the raspberry seeds. Add the water.

In a bowl mix together the sugar, corn starch, rice starch and lecithin. Pour these powders into the saucepan and blend to remove all lumps. Cook the cream over low power on an induction hob or low flame on the stove. Cook until the cream becomes thick; you can use a thermometer and reach about 82˚C.

Transfer the cream to a jug and blend with an immersion blender for a couple of minutes. Then add the cold margarine and blend until it is well incorporated and you have a glossy cream. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film touching the surface and rest in the fridge about 2 h. When cooled and thickened take the cream, remove the film, stir with a spatula and transfer into a piping bag. Store in the refrigerator.

Take half of the discs and flip them upside down, this way being flat they will match better with the other shortcrust disc. Place a raspberry in the center of each flipped shortcrust disc.

With the piping bag fill each cookie making a ring around the raspberry. Place the second shortcrust disc and press lightly. Return to the fridge.

Storage

Store in the refrigerator in a closed container up to 4 days.

Tips

You can also fill with other creams such as: - classic custard cream click here - chocolate cream click here - cocoa cream click here - pistachio cream click here - hazelnut cream click here - lemon cream click here - chocolate namelaka click here We recommend reading these articles: - which ingredients to use - where to buy pastry ingredients and products