Fortnum and Mason and Rose Scented Biscuits

NOTE: Click here for a more recent post on Fortnum & Mason's Rose Biscuits + How to Make Crystallised Rose Petals. The recipe in this more recent post replicates these biscuits in a truer way than the version in this post - Kath, 25/4/16.

. . . 

The first time I went to Fortnum and Mason, I was 18, not into tea and really had no idea. What a shame. All I remember seeing is the bluey-green of the interior and thinking, ‘So the Royals buy their food here?’ Luckily things have changed. 

My next encounter with Fortnum and Mason was with their Rose Shortbread, in a lovely pink cylindrical tin. Of course, it was the tin that attracted my attention first. Anyone who knows me knows that I am drawn to pink. I can’t help it. The biscuits ended up being beautiful too, so it was a win win really. Later, I found a book by Fortnum and Mason about Tea which had a biscuit recipe for rose biscuits that, I hoped would be the same as the ones that came in the pretty pink tins. Unfortunately, I had the book for a few years and never tried it. Mostly because the recipe called for crystallised rose petals and golden caster sugar. The first seemed to be basically unheard of in Australia and I was just plain confused by the second. I gave up. 

Display of Fortnum & Mason's wonderful biscuits in their London shop.

When we decided we were going to London, I decided I was not going to miss out on Fortnum and Mason. And I certainly did not. Mum and I ended up going there three separate times! We had tea and scones in The Parlour, looked around the shop, including their great baking section, and admired the lovely tea sets for sale. On another visit I bought tea, and on the third I was so hungry I just had to try their macarons. I tried salted caramel, red velvet and Neapolitan. All were brilliant.

Tea & Scones at the Parlour in Fortnum & Mason London.

Salted Caramel, Red Velvet & Neapolitan Macarons from Fortnum & Mason, London.

After a few weeks back at home, I re-opened the ‘Tea’ book from Fortnum and Mason. I decided that I was going to make these rose biscuits and unavailable and unheard of ingredients were not going to stop me. Unfortunately, crystallised rose petals still seem to be unheard of in Australia. Fortunately however, ‘golden caster sugar’ is now available in Australia, so after a little experimentation I have settled on this adaption of the original Fortnum and Mason recipe. I have iced them with a rose icing as the extra subtle hit of rose makes up for the crystallised rose petals.  

Ingredients: 

200g unsalted butter, softened

100g golden caster sugar* or caster sugar 

4 tsp rosewater

200g plain flour, sifted

100g almond meal

For Icing: 

2.5 cups sifted icing sugar (confectioners) 

2 tbsp boiling water

2.5-3 tsp rosewater 

pink food colouring

Method: 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and line two baking trays with baking paper. 

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and rosewater until all combined. Add the sifted flour and almond meal and mix until combined. 

Using a teaspoon, take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls and place on the baking trays. Flatten the balls a little so they form fat round discs. 

Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly golden. Cool biscuits on the trays or on a wire rack. 

Once the biscuits are cool, place the sifted icing sugar in a medium bowl. Add the boiling water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well. Then add the rosewater. Add as much or as little as you like, but I found that 3 teaspoons had a nice scent of rose without being overpowering. 

Once all the liquids are added, check the consistency of the icing. It needs to be a smooth paste. If it is too runny it will run down the sides of the biscuits. Add more sifted icing sugar, in small increments, if the icing is too runny. If the icing is to thick, add more boiling water in small increments. 

Once you have the right consistency, add a small amount of pink food colouring. I use gel colours, and don’t have to use very much to achieve a nice light pink colour. If using traditional food colours that are more fluid, add tiny amounts until you have a nice light pink colour. It won’t take much colouring to get a light pink. Add a litttle more sifted icing sugar/boiling water if the food colour has changed the consistency of the icing. 

Once you have the desired colour and consistency for the icing, spread small amounts on the top of each biscuit. The icing will take at least a couple of hours to dry completely, but they are great to eat even if the icing hasn’t dried. 

Makes 36-38 biscuits. Store in a airtight container.

*‘golden caster sugar’ may be labelled as ‘raw caster sugar’ in Australian supermarkets. However, the UK sugar manufacturer ‘Billington’s’ is available in Thomas Dux stores, Essential Ingredient and Woolworths stores. Billington’s has a range of sugars including ‘golden caster sugar’ and ‘muscovado’ sugars. 

Recipe adapted from ‘Tea at Fortnum and Mason’ p.61 (Ebury Press).

Fortnum and Mason can be found at 181 Piccadilly, London.

Originally Posted March 25, 2014.

For more recipes showcasing the best of rose, check out my Baking with Rose eBook by clicking the link below!

Galette au Beurre and ‘À La Mère de Famille’ Paris

Recently, I was lucky enough to travel to London and Paris. I’m not really sure what anyone else thinks of doing when they travel, but all I think about is the food. Once the travel plans were organised, I set out looking up where I wanted to eat. Which in the end, mostly meant I had looked up where the cake shops, bakeries, patisseries and tea salons were. The list I made for each city took us round to all the places we could get good food, cake, tea, kitchen and baking supplies and more cake. By the time we returned home I was really excited to bake something inspired by my travels.

This recipe is from a book I bought before I knew I would get to go overseas. The book, ‘À La Mère de Famille’, is the cookbook from a confectionary shop/chocolatier in Paris of the same name. The shop, which now has more than one location in the city, was established in 1761. The original shop, on the Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, was on my absolute must do list. As in, I wasn’t leaving the city unless we went there. I even walked past one of the newer subsequent locations of the shop and refused to go in because I had my heart set on going to the original one. I’m not really sure why I was so insistent on only going to the original shop. Maybe there’s just something special about going into a shop that has been there for so long. In any case, I’m glad we waited because it was very quaint and sweet. The window displays were enticing and once you were inside, it was easy to imagine the shop selling more or less the same things for all those years. They even had a separate booth for the cashier. All the pâte de fruits, caramels, chocolates and cakes were beautifully presented and I had a hard time choosing what I wanted. I settled on some chocolates for gifts, some marshmallows and some passionfruit caramels. 

So, once we were home, the chocolates were gifted away and the marshmallows eaten (I am still rationing the caramels because they are so very good), I decided I just had to make something from À La Mère de Famille’s book. Confectionary was ruled out due to my jet lagged state, so I settled on these plain but very pleasing biscuits. They are quite easy to make, and they make a fairly large quantity too. Everyone who ate them agreed they were nicer than shortbread, as while they are a butter biscuit they are lighter than shortbread and less crumbly as well. I gave some to my Grandpa and he told me, that not only did he like them, but had gotten up in the night to eat them! 

Ingredients: 

270g softened unsalted butter

250g icing sugar

2 eggs

500g plain flour 

milk (for glazing) 

Method: 

Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, then sift in the flour. Lay a sheet of baking paper onto a bench or flat surface and tip the dough onto it. Cover the dough with a second sheet of baking paper and roll the dough until it is 2-3mm thick. Chill in the refrigerator for one hour. 

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line three large baking trays with baking paper. Remove dough from fridge and remove top layer of baking paper. Cut biscuits out using a fluted 48mm pastry or biscuit cutter. Place evenly on trays. Brush with milk and push down lightly on each biscuit with a fork to create a slight indentation. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. I found I needed an extra 10 minutes or so until the biscuits were golden, but it will depend on your oven. 

Best stored in an airtight container. Makes at least 50 biscuits. 

Recipe from ‘À La Mère de Famille Artisanal Recipes’ by Julien Merceron p.214.

The shop can be found at 35 Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, Paris.

À La Mère de Famille - 35 Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, Paris.

Originally Posted March 18, 2014.

Chewy Cardamom & Rosewater Macaroons (Gluten + Dairy Free + Passover Friendly)

This recipe is originally from Nigella Lawson’s book ‘Feast’ (p.186), however I have adapted it slightly to suit my tastes. I have made these many, many times, given them as gifts, and Cath (Confessions of a Glutton) and I sold some at our Bake Sale back in September last year. They are really easy to make and are great if you have egg whites left over from something else. The recipe is also really easy to double, and they just happen to be gluten free. 

Need any more reasons to make them or have I convinced you yet?! 

Don’t be put off by the flavours of cardamom and rosewater. They are quite subtle and very lovely. And in my opinion, anything that comes from a Nigella Lawson cookbook must be worth trying. Nigella has a great attitude and creativity towards food that is infectious and very admirable. 

Ingredients:

200g almond meal

200g caster sugar 

1/4 tsp finely ground cardamom

1/4 tsp rosewater

2 egg whites 

1-2 tsp rosewater, extra

25g blanched almonds (enough for each macaroon you make) 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. 

In a free standing mixer, mix the almond meal, sugar, cardamom and egg whites until it forms a coherent paste. This process can also be done by hand, but as Nigella suggests, and I agree, the mixer is best due to the thickness, and stickiness of the mixture. At this point you may add 1/4 tsp of rosewater to the mix. This is my addition because I love rosewater. 

Sprinkle rosewater onto your hands and roll the mixture into little balls (walnut sized). Place on to the baking trays and the squash down a little. Then place a blanched almond in the centre of each biscuit.  

Bake for 10-12 minutes. If they go golden too quickly turn the oven down to 180 degrees celsius. The aim is not to have golden biscuits, but to remove them from the oven before this happens. Inevitably, I find the edges of some biscuits will go a little golden, probably because each rack in the oven I use cooks at a different rate. 

Cool biscuits on a cooling rack.

Makes approx. 28

Originally Posted February 1, 2014.

Grandma's Shortbread Biscuits

This recipe is very special to me. That might sound strange as it really just comprises three ingredients, but this is probably my favourite thing that my Grandma used to make. I have great memories of making these with her and of course, eating them! The last time I remember she made them was for my twenty-first birthday. I called her and told her that I was having an afternoon tea for my birthday, and she asked whether she could provide any food for it. I immediately said no, as my Mum and I had been busy organising all the things we would need and probably didn’t need anything else. I instinctively felt bad saying no, as I knew Grandma probably wanted to bring something. My Grandma always brought food to everything, that was the way she contributed to things. A couple of days later I suddenly realised that I definitely DID want Grandma to bake something for my birthday! No birthday, and certainly not one that was an afternoon tea, would be complete without shortbread! I rang her up, and asked if she would bake some and she was happy too. I’m so glad she did as, though we all still had a few years left together at that stage, it was, I realised after she died, the last time she ever made my favourite shortbread for me.

This recipe for shortbread is quite easy but, the temperature of the butter will determine how crumbly the dough becomes. I find that butter at around room temperature is best. My Grandma never iced her shortbread, she always cut a red glacé cherry in half and placed it in the centre of the biscuit before baking. They are very nice this way, and quite festive for Christmas time. But of course, I could never only make them at Christmas! 

Shortbread the way Grandma used to make them.

Ingredients: 

160 g unsalted butter  

60 g caster sugar 

250 g plain flour

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius and line two large baking trays with baking paper.

Place the larger quantity of butter and the sugar into a food processor and pulse until combined. 

Add the plain flour, and pulse until the dough looks like the breadcrumbs. At this stage, if the dough does not start to come together well, add the extra butter and pulse until it is combined and the dough comes together. 

Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface. The dough may still look crumbly at this stage, but once brought together with your hands, and rolled out with a rolling pin, it will become a more consistent dough. Shortbread is a dryer dough than others so don’t worry if the edges of your dough are particularly brittle.

Once the dough is rolled out, cut out shapes with biscuit cutters. To ensure the shapes don’t break when you transfer them to a baking tray, slide a spatula under the biscuits to help lift them to the tray. 

Space biscuits evenly on the trays and bake for about 20 minutes. If your oven, like mine, doesn’t cook evenly on each tray, you might like to swap the trays over or turn them around half way through the cooking time to ensure the biscuits cook more evenly. 

Cool on trays or wire racks. 

The quantity this recipe yields is dependent on the size of biscuit cutters you use. When I used this recipe for the biscuits I made in the photo above, the recipe made twenty-two biscuits. 

Shortbread are lovely on their own, or once cooled you can ice them. When I first started icing biscuits, I used the royal icing that can be bought in a packed at the supermarket. It is quite good to use if you are just starting out and one packet will ice more than one batch of shortbread. If you want a more smooth and glossy finish of icing however, the packet mix royal icing isn’t the one to use. For such a finish it is best to make your own royal icing. I have been using the recipe from ‘Sweet Bake Shop’* and have found it to be fantastic.

*Sweet Bake Shop website has now changed (last checked 10/10/14). Website previously contained recipes and instructions. The website now represents the evolution of Sweet Bake Shop, which is now an actual store front in Vancouver, Canada. The website no longer contains recipes, however there are some video tutorials by Sweet Bake Shop owner Tessa. 

Originally Posted January 8, 2014.