St Clement’s squares
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Easy - March 2019
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Makes 15-18 -
Hands-on time 20 min, oven time 50 min, plus chilling and cooling
These lemony, flower-topped St Clement’s shortbreads make a wonderful teatime treat in spring. They’re simple but delectable: a soft shortbread-like base with a zingy citrus topping melding into it – a glorious bake for Mothering Sunday, Easter (or any day).
Feed a crowd with more of our teatime traybakes. Our banoffee millionaire’s shortbread is a particular favourite…
- Calories
- 260kcals
- Fat
- 11.8g (6.9g saturated)
- Protein
- 3.9g
- Carbohydrates
- 34.1g (18.6g sugars)
- Fibre
- 0.8g
- Salt
- 0.1g
delicious. tips
You can buy edible flowers from Sainsbury’s or online at Ocado.
It’s vital to chill the butter for the shortbread base to prevent the mixture becoming greasy.
Don’t over-work the dough for the base in step 1. Too much handling will develop the gluten (proteins) in the flour, which will make it tough. What you’re looking for here is a delicate, soft, melt-in-the-mouth crumb.
Chilling the shortbread and allowing it to relax in step 2 will help it keep its shape and reduce shrinkage.
Don’t over-whisk the topping mixture in step 3 as it may cause a sugar crust to form during baking. Don’t worry if that happens, though – once you’ve dusted it with icing sugar no one will notice.
Make up to 1 day ahead and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.