Late July is the must beautiful time of the year. This morning we went running on the Yorkshire moors where the heather is in bud. In a few days time its distinctive scent will waft through the air as the twiggy shrub comes into full bloom.
At home in the garden lavender is flowering. Its scented flowers can be scattered over everything from roast pork to shortbread. This morning I put these photos on Instagram and one of my lovely followers the calligrapher @Quillandco asked if I would post the recipe - so here it is. Thanks to brilliant home economist Gill Marczak for making these..
Lavender shortbread
Ingredients
- 175 g plain flour
- 175 g butter (very cold and just out of the fridge)
- 75 g caster sugar
- 75 g fine semolina
- a little extra caster sugar
- a small bunch of freshly cut lavender flowers
Method
You will need a lightly buttered, round loose bottomed cake tin measuring 20cm across.
Before you begin - check the lavender stems for insects before stripping the flowers from the stems.
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add a tablespoon of individual lavender flowers to the dough. Gradually bring the mixture together as a dough using your hands to shape the dough into a ball.
Transfer the dough to the prepared tin and press it into the tin, smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon or a knife. out evenly, smoothing it out with the back of a tablespoon. Then prick it all over with a fork and, using the prongs of the fork, press quite firmly round the edges to make a patterned border.
Bake the shortbread near the centre of the oven for 1 hours until it is pale gold. Then allow the shortbread to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before cutting it into 12 wedges.
Remove them to a wire rack to get completely cold.
Scatters with extra lavender flowers and caster sugar before serving.
The shortbread can be stored in an airtight tin for a few days.
It is delicious served with baked plums drizzled with honey and scattered with nuts.