Nigella's Custard Creams

Back in March I showed you how to make JO WHEATLEY'S CUSTARD CREAMS. It was such a popular recipe that it made me curious about other Custard Cream recipes.

It didn't take much research to find Nigella Lawson's Custard Creams recipe.  Well, you have to test these things out.   It's all in the name of science and to find the BEST possible Custard Cream recipe.

Are you ready to do some research?  Here's Nigella's recipe:

For the Biscuits

175 grams plain flour
3 Tablespoons custard powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
50 grams butter
50 grams vegetable shortening
3 Tablespoons caster sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk

You can blitz the ingredients in a food processor or do it the old fashioned way.  Cream the butter, vegetable shortening and sugar together.  Beat in the egg.  Sift the dry ingredients together and add them to the creamed mixture, stirring until all the flour has been incorporated.  If the dough seems to dry, add the milk and mix well.

Wrap the biscuit dough in plastic wrap and chill for about 20 minutes.  Heat the oven to 180C/350C.  

When the dough is chilled, dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough to about 4mm thick.  Use a cookie cutter dipped in flour to cut the biscuits.  Nigella used a heart shape cutter so I did too.

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Leave some space between each biscuit. They expand as they bake. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.  The biscuits should be firm but not brown.  Cool the biscuits on a wire rack before filling with Custard Cream. 

Beat together the following ingredients to make the Custard Cream Filling:

1 Tablespoon custard powder
100 grams icing sugar
50 grams butter
1 teaspoon boiling water

Make a cookie sandwich by filling two biscuits with a spoonful of Custard Cream.  Gently squish the biscuits together to distribute the filling.

Now here comes the science bit, the taste test and analysis.  I really like Nigella's Custard Creams.  But you will have to conduct the Custard Creams Experiment come to your own conclusions.