Boy Bakes Treats - Golden Custard Creams

Golden Custard Creams

Boy Bakes Treats - Golden Custard Creams

If you've ever wondered how the pleasure receptors in your brain are activated, then think of these cookies as a perfect neuropsychological experiment. In fact, you could put one of those brain net things on, eat a custard cream and watch your entire grey matter light up like a Christmas tree.

The cookie itself is sweet, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth - a lighter shortbread with a warm nostaglic feel to it. It also looks pretty damn good too, inviting and golden, with slight ridges that are helpful indicators of where to chomp down for a first bite. Sandwiched in the middle is a creamy icing filling with a slight tang that cuts through the richness of the cookie and also serves up a another luxurious texture of its own.

I'd like to say the end result has an unctuousness that is rarely rivalled among baked goods, but then I looked up that word and in the words of The Princess Bride, "I do not think it means what you think it means". Let's say instead - go make these. They're pretty damn fine.

A quick note, if you can't get your hands on custard powder or if you don't want to have a big-ass tin sitting idle in the corner of your pantry after just one use, you can substitute with 60 grams of cornflour, plus 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract and pinch of salt.

MAKES

10

PREP

20 minutes

COOK

15 minutes
plus cooling

Ingredients

  • 60 grams custard powder
  • 170 grams plain flour
  • 140 grams butter
  • 60 grams icing sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preparation

  1. Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/360 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift flour and custard powder into a bowl and set aside.
  2. Cream sugar and butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla then fold in the flour and custard powder and beat together until just combined. Don't overmix or the cookies won't have a fine texture.
  3. Use floured hands to roll even teaspoons of mixture in balls and place on a lightly greased oven tray. Leave sufficient space between each ball to allow them to spread in the oven. Dust a fork with extra flour and press down on balls to flatten slightly.
  4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to cooling rack and cool completely.
  5. To make the filling, cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy - something with the consistency of buttercream. Add lemon juice and beat until combined. Spread frosting on bottom of one cookie and top with bottom of another. Repeat until all the cookies have been filled.

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Recipe notes