2 Vanilla biscuits filled with raspberry jam

Styling by Nomvuselelo Mncube and Photograph by Dylan Swart

Serves: 20 Time: 20min Level: Easy

INGREDIENTS 60g castor sugar 40g icing sugar, si ed + extra, to dust 250g bu er, so ened 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence 400g cake flour, si ed pinch salt 150g raspberry jam

HOW TO DO IT

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line 2 large baking tins with baking paper. To make the biscuits, beat the castor and 40g icing sugar, the bu er and vanilla essence together in a blender or with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add the cake flour and salt and blitz at medium speed, a further 1 minute, until well incorporated. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate, at least 20 minutes.

2. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out between 2 sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 0,4cm. Cut the dough into 6cm-diameter discs using a cookie cu er. Split the biscuit discs into 2 batches and cut a 4cm heart shape from the centres of 1 batch. Place all of the biscuit discs in the prepared baking tins and chill in the fridge, 15 minutes.

3. Bake the biscuits, 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Allow to cool at room temperature. Dust the face side of the heartout biscuits with icing sugar and dollop raspberry jam in the centre of the other half of the biscuit “sandwich” (on the flat side). Press a biscuit with jam onto a heart-out biscuit to close the sandwich, the dusted heart side facing up.