Strawberry shortbread with mascarpone

You’d be hard pressed to find a more deliciously summery dessert than this strawberry shortbread with mascarpone. It just looks so pretty, and the sweet and creamy flavour combo is divine. Plus, strawberries are one of the best sources of vitamin C you can eat – so it’s a winner on all levels!

If you have dinner guests coming in the evening, the mascarpone filling can be made several hours ahead – to help you save time.

Ingredients (makes 10)

75g unrefined light muscovado sugar

1tbsp unrefined demerara sugar, for sprinkling

175g plain flour

75g fine semolina, rice flour or cornflour

175g unsalted butter, cold and cut into squares

1tsp vanilla bean paste or seeds from 1 vanilla pod

A pinch of salt

200g mascarpone

1tbsp double cream

1/2 vanilla pod, seeds removed

1tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

200g-250g fresh Jubilee Selections strawberries, hulled and sliced horizontally

Zest of 1/2 small lemon or orange

1 x small pack of shortbread rounds (I used 1 x 160g lemon shortbread thins)

 Method

Add all the ingredients (apart from the demerara sugar) into a large food processor and whizz until a soft ball of dough forms.

Transfer the dough to a prepared work surface and roll out until approximately 5mm thick.

Use a circular cutter to cut out 10 circle biscuits.

Place circles on to a non-stick baking tray and chill the shortbread in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/130ºC fan/gas mark 2. Using a fork, prick the shortbread all over the surface and sprinkle evenly with demerara sugar.

Bake for about one hour, or until lightly golden.

Leave the shortbread to cool

For the filling:

Add the lemon or orange zest to the Jubilee Selections strawberries and carefully stir this through. In a bowl, mix together the mascarpone, cream, vanilla seeds and icing sugar.

Place six shortbread rounds on a board and arrange a layer of sliced Jubilee Strawberries on top. Then using a teaspoon, divide the mascarpone cream between each one, followed by another layer of Jubilee Strawberries. Finish with another shortbread round and a dusting of icing sugar.

Recipe courtesy of Jubilee Selections