Filled Shortbread Slice
An old-fashioned shortbread and an classic chocolate or jam-filled slice are things of baking beauty. So I’ve gone ahead and brought these two stunners together to create a simple and delicious filled shortbread slice.
The inspiration for this came from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan, who has a recipe for Hungarian Shortbread, where one grates the shortbread dough for the base and the top. I was amazed at how grating the dough and allowing it to gently settle on the surface – rather than compacting it down as you would with a standard shortbread - resulted in a beautifully light melt-in-the-mouth texture.
But I do also love a classic shortbread, and the memories of my Mum’s classic shortbread – shaped into a round, with crimped edges, sprinkled with caster sugar and cut into pizza-like slices – will be my all-time favourite.
So my recipe gives the best of all shortbread worlds – a classic push-in-the-tin base that’s blind baked, and a grated shortbread topping that brings a stunning textural lightness.
And the filling is a choose your own adventure! I’ve done two versions here – one with my nectarine and ginger jam, and another with choc-chips – which also bring their own unique textures! The jam-filled slice softens over time becoming even more lusciously delicious, while the chocolate holds firmer.
One note to keep in mind:
I used two 20cm loose-bottomed tart tins to bake this shortbread. It makes it nice and easy to get the slice out of the tin once baked. The shape is also reminiscent of the shortbread my Mum makes! If you don’t have two of these, this will work well in two 20cm round or square cake tins, or one large rectangle slice tin. Just make sure you leave enough overhanging baking paper so you can lift out the shortbread once its baked and cooled.
Ingredients
500g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
390g unsalted butter, room temperature
4 egg yolks, room temperature
350g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing sugar, to liberally dust once baked
Filling options (note that the amounts below are enough for the filling in one of the two tins – double if using the same filling in both, or are making 1 large slice)
200g jam of your choice (I used my Nectarine and Ginger Jam)
100-150g of chocolate chips (Dark, milk or a mix of both!)
Method
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees C and grease and line the base of two 20cm loose-bottomed tart tins (see notes).
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. Place the butter in a large bowl and beat until smooth using hand beaters or a wooden spoon, if you’d like to take an old-school approach. There’s no need to beat the butter for long – you just want to smooth it out, not incorporate air into it.
Add the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla and beat on low until combined. Add the combined dry ingredients and beat until the dough starts to come together. I generally find that I need to abandon the hand beaters and use my hands to gently knead the dough to finish bringing it together.
Shape the dough into a thick log and divide in half. Shape on half into a sausage about 6-8cm in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the freezer while you get on with the rest of the preparation.
Divide the remaining dough in half. Press one half of the dough into one of your prepared tins so the base is completely and evenly covered. I like to use the heel of my palm to gently push the dough from the centre to the edge, and then use an offset spatula to ensure the dough is level. Dock the dough a couple of times with a fork, and then repeat these steps for the second lot of dough.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the tins once during baking, until the dough looks set and is starting to lightly brown on the edges. Take out of the oven and leave to cool on the bench for 5 minutes.
Once slightly cooled, spread or sprinkle your chosen filling over the base. Take the sausage of dough from the freezer and, using the course side of a box grater (the one you’d rate a carrot with), grate the remaining dough over the filling. Gently spread and press the grated dough so it evenly covers the shortbread, and then bake for another 30 minutes, or until evenly golden on top.
Immediately after taking the baked shortbread out of the oven, liberally dust with icing sugar and then leave the baked shortbread in the tins to cool for about 30 minutes.
Once cooled but still warm, remove the shortbread from the tin, slice into triangles or diamonds, and then leave to cool to room temperature. For maximum enjoyment, serve with a coffee and your favourite people.
This shortbread will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
