Welcome back to another delicious lactose free recipe. This week I wanted to make a interesting cookie design featuring a new piping tip that I have come across.. For this recipe I wanted to bring a zestier flavor combined with a delicious buttery shortbread. Of course you sill have the meringue for the sweetness.
To make this signature meringue shape you will need a Sultane icing tip #796. They are tricky to use so they may take you a few practice batches to get right. To help I have created some videos that will hopefully show you now to produce the best results.
When you go to pipe the meringue keep the bag tight and straight. Position directly above. Squeeze the mixture out, try not to shake or move. When it has reached the desired shape stop piping and pull straight up.
Do not keep pressure on the bag when you pull up at the end. Or the meringue will come out in a cylinder , which is unfortunately not the look we are going for this time.
I found these piping tips tricky to use so it may take a few practice batches to get right. If it doesn’t work right away don’t worry, keep practicing and you will get it. I failed many times trying to figure out the technique and get the prefect shape.
The recipe you see is entirely lactose free, providing you use the right products of course. Check the fondant you will be using to make sure it contains no lactose.I always use Over The Top icing because it is dairy free and top quality.
Ingredients
-
Shortbread
- Meringue
- Decorating
Instructions
-
Shortbread
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
-
Place the margarine and sugar into a bowl.
-
Beat until pale and creamy.
-
Add in the flour and rice flour. Stir until the dough comes together.
-
Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Be careful not to over knead.
-
Roll the dough out and cut using a 4.5 cm cookie cutter. Place onto a baking try and put in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill.
- Place trays into the oven and cook for 8 to 12 minutes. Be careful they don’t brown too much. I found that sometimes the cookies will spread out. Get your cookie cutter and measure to see if the cookies have spread out. If they have simply cut them out again. Make sure you do this while they are warm.
-
Set aside so they cool.
Meringue
- Preheat your oven to 100C and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.
-
The bowl that you are whisking the egg whites in must be completely dry and grease free. Make sure the egg whites are room temperature.
-
Start whisking the egg whites until they become foamy. Add the tartaric acid (or cream of tartar) and salt.
- Continue whisking and gradually add the sugar 1 table spoon at a time.
-
Keep whisking until the mix is thick and glossy. Test the mixture by rubbing a small amount between your fingers. If it feels grainy then keep whisking. I found that a harder meringue works better with the piping tip, the ridge shape appears better and it is easier to work with. The meringue will basically stick inside the whisk like a giant ball. This is how you can tell if it is hard or not.
-
Stir in the vanilla extract.
-
Fit a large piping bag with the Sultane icing tip and fill with the meringue. Place a small amount of meringue into the corners of the baking trays to stick down the baking paper.
- Keep the bag tight and straight. Position directly above. Squeeze the mixture out, try not to shake or move. When it has reached the desired shape stop piping and pull straight up. Do not keep pressure on the bag when you pull up at the end. Seriously.
-
Repeat until all the meringue had been used up.
- Bake in the oven for one hour & 30 minutes. When the time is up turn off the oven. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. Leave the door closed and allow the meringues to cool down completely. This could take a few hours. They will even be okay to leave in the oven over night. They need to cool down and try or they will become unbearably sticky.
- Immediately transfer the meringues into a air tight container. Lemon curd
-
Place all ingredients in saucepan.
-
Cook (medium to low heat) until the margarine melts. Increase the heat. Keep stirring until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
- Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
- When I made the curd the first time, I noticed that it didn’t have quite the right color. The taste was there but it just wasn’t yellow enough. Simple add a few drops of yellow food coloring. If the mixture is too thick simply add more water. In turn, if the mixture is having problems thickening you can add in some cornflour (1 to 2 teaspoons). DO NOT PUT THE CORNFLOUR STRAIGHT INTO THE CURD. You need to add some water to the cornflower until it is dissolved and there are no lumps. If you put the cornflour straight into the curd, there will be a lot of lumps in the curd that are almost impossible to get out. Seriously I made this mistake myself, I tried straining, scooping and blitzing the curd and nothing worked to get rid of the lumps. Decorating
-
How we have all the pieces we can start the assembly. To decorate cut out little flowers from the fondant. Place a sprinkle in the center and press down to secure it in place.
- Get a cookie and place a meringue on top. Fill the center of the meringue with the curd. Top with a little flower.
- You will pretty much have to serve these straight away. If not the curd may make the meringue soft.
-
Serve and enjoy.
