Brown Sugar Shortbread with Blood Orange Crème

By franny-2

Blood oranges have a slightly tarter and fuller orange flavour than ordinary fruit—and their flesh is more colourful, hence the name. This shortbread seems to disappear from the cooling rack, so since these wedges keep well, you may want to make a double batch.

Ingredients

• Shortbread
• 1 ⁄2 cup (125 mL) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 ⁄4 cup (175 mL) unsalted butter
• 1 ⁄4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 11 ⁄2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour (see TIP)
• 1 ⁄3 cup (75 mL) rice flour
• Crème
• 1 ⁄2 pkg (250 g) cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp (25 mL) whipping cream
• 1 ⁄4 tsp (1 mL) pure vanilla extract
• 2 blood oranges
• 1 ⁄4 cup (50 mL) icing sugar plus 1 tbsp (15 mL) for garnish
• Several sprigs fresh mint

Details

Servings 16

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or ungreased foil.

3. Whirl sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds to give it a finer texture. Add butter and salt; whirl until smooth and caramel-coloured. (If mixture appears grainy, let rest for 15 minutes; then whirl again.) In a large bowl stir flours together; make a well.

4. Add butter mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir with a spatula until crumbly dough forms. Divide dough into 2 portions.

5. Place portions on baking sheets. Firmly pat each into a round about 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter. Decorate edges by pushing index fingernail into edges in a scallop manner. Using a long chef’s knife, cut each circle into 8 wedges, but keep together. Prick each wedge in 2 places with a fork.

6. Bake on centre rack of preheated oven for 30 minutes or until pale golden-brown on edges. Cool on pans on cooling rack for 5 minutes; then cut apart again with chef’s knife. Remove wedges to cooling rack. (When cool, store in an airtight container for 2 weeks or more.)

7. To make crème, beat cream cheese with whipping cream and vanilla until smooth. Zest 1 blood orange with a rasp. Stir zest into cheese mixture with 1⁄4 cup (50 mL) icing sugar. (Crème can be covered and refrigerated for a day or more.) Cut rind from blood oranges. Slice oranges crosswise; then cut into small pieces (to perch on shortbread wedges).

8. To serve, dust tops of wedges with icing sugar tapped from a small sieve. Pipe or heap about 2 tsp (10 mL) crème on each shortbread. Pat pieces of blood orange dry with a paper towel; place on crème. Decorate with a mint leaf. Serve right away.

TIP: To avoid excess flour, stir before spooning it into measure. Level by using a knife, not by shaking measure.