MIRANDA GORE BROWNE'S BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE BISCUITS

One of the best things about my visit to the London Produce Show last month was getting the chance to watch some live cooking demos and sample the delights that were being made. The first of these that I watched was Miranda Gore Browne, of Great British Bake Off fame, who whipped up some seriously yummy blackberry crumble biscuits, that were then passed round for us to try. They were excellent, and I'm not normally a biscuit fan! They had the perfect balance of crunchy and soft with the freshness of blackberries and the sweet blackberry flower they were served with. I've already made a batch at home and they were nearly as good as Miranda's! If you want to try them for yourselves, then here's the recipe so that you too can make them.

Please just pretend that the photo I took is nice and in focus!! It doesn't do the biscuits any justice at all as they were so, so pretty - before I ate them!

Makes 12

 

145g unsalted butter, softened

155g Demerara sugar

1 large free-range egg

210g plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of 1½ oranges

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

20g caster sugar

150g small blackberries, chopped

10 blackberry flowers (optional), plus extra to garnish

 

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

 

In a large bowl, cream together 115g of each the butter and sugar with the back of a wooden spoon, then beat in the egg. Add the 180g of the flour, the vanilla, one-third of the orange zest and the bicarbonate of soda, then mix gently until combined. Put 12 dollops of the mixture onto the prepared trays, spacing them at least 3cm apart. Bake for 10 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, make the crumble topping by rubbing the remaining 30g of butter into the remaining 30g of flour in a small bowl, using your fingers. Stir in the remaining 40g Demerara sugar and caster sugar, as well as the remaining orange zest, the chopped blackberries and blackberry flowers.

 

Take the biscuits out of the oven, flatten them a little with a palette knife, then divide the crumble topping between them. Bake for 5 mins or until golden around the edges, then leave on the trays to cool until transferring them to a wire rack. These biscuits are best eaten the day you make them.

 

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What I really like about Miranda's recipes is that they are easy to follow and don't require anything that you can't get at your local supermarket. She has a new book coming out at the end of August, called Bake Me A Cake As Fast As You Can, in which she's written over 100 recipes that you can make in almost no time at all. Miranda is great as she removes the fear that many people have about baking, and encourages and guides you through the recipes in her books so that you can make cakes and biscuits just as good as hers!

 

*This recipe was developed exclusively for The London Produce Show by Miranda Gore Browne, to be cooked as part of her cookery demonstration at the 2014 show.