Strawberry Shortcakes

📝 Ingredients

• 100 g Caster Sugar
• 200 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
• 300 g Plain Flour
• 50 g Pistachios (kernals)
• 300 ml Double Cream
• Strawberries (washed; halved)
• Icing Sugar

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- For the Shortbread ---
2. 2Pre-heat you oven to 160°c and grease your baking tray with a little butter.
3. 3Cream together the butter & sugar in a large bowl until it becomes light & fluffy.
4. 4Sift in your flour and mix to form a stiff dough. Roughly chop your pistachio kernels and add them to the dough. Tip the dough onto a floured worktop and gently knead until smooth.
5. 5Roll your dough to around 5mm thick and cut into circles. Transfer each shortbread to your pre-greased baking trays and prick each one with a fork on top.
6. 6Bake at 160°c for around 15-20 minutes until the edges of the shortbread are golden.
7. 7Remove from the oven and leave to cool on their tray for around 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. 8--- For the Filling ---
9. 9Cut your strawberries in half, dust with around a teaspoon of caster sugar and stir. Put aside to macerate.
10. 10Whip your double cream in a large bowl until it thickens. Add a teaspoon of icing sugar if desired.
11. 11Once your shortbread has cooled completely, spread a dollop of cream onto the underside each biscuit. Add the strawberries to half of the cream-topped the biscuits, either neatly arranged in circles or randomly, if preferred. Use whatever cream is left to fill any gaps in the strawberries.
12. 12Sandwich your strawberry & cream topped biscuits with the biscuits with only-cream.
13. 13Dust with a little icing sugar to complete.