What’s better than a cup of tea? I cup of tea served with a plate of buttery, melt-in-you-mouth shortbread, subtly spiced with the flavours of chai masala. I use ground rice in this recipe to achieve the distinctively sandy, crumbly texture of shortbread. You could use fine semolina instead of ground rice for the same crumb effect. Use the best quality butter you can manage as you can really taste the difference.

Chai Masala Shortbread

Chai Masala Shortbread

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Course: BakingCuisine: BakingDifficulty: Easy
Servings

10

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

What’s better than a cup of tea? A cup of tea served with a plate of buttery, melt-in-you-mouth shortbread, subtly spiced with the flavours of chai masala.

Ingredients

  • 115 g butter, at room temperature

  • 55 g caster sugar

  • pinch salt

  • 140 g plain flour

  • 30 g ground rice or fine semolina

  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

  • small pinch ground cloves

  • small pinch freshly ground black pepper

  • Demerara sugar, to finish

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 150°C. Place the butter in a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft. Add the sugar and salt and beat a little more.
  • Sift over the flour, ground rice (or semolina if using), as well as the ground spices and mix to a smooth dough. Add a drop of ice cold water if it doesn’t come together.
  • Line a 15cm tin with baking paper and lightly pat the dough into the tin, not allowing the shape of the dough to quite touch the edges of the tin. Pop in the fridge and chill for 15-20 minutes.
  • Bake for around an hour, until cooked through but still pale. Remove from the oven and cut into fingers, squares of triangles.
  • Allow to cool slightly before sprinkling with the Demerara sugar to finish.

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