Schottisches ShortbreadScottish Shortbread

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

I never were really fond of shortbread. Scottish or not. We didn’t even tried some, as we were in Scotland last year. We just brought some home as a gift. I ate some of the gift myself. But I’m not ashamed, since it revealed the tastiness of shortbread to me. Scottish shortbread. I don’t know how Irish tastes or other. So I’m only referring to Scottish.

Lately I thought again of the shortbread. And I thought of a try years ago to produce shortbread. It was a recipe of Jamie Oliver. It was not good. Since then I had a slightly aversion against shortbread. Sorry Jamie. But there was no reference of the Scottish there. A glimmer of hope? Well, I searched the internet for a simple shortbread recipe, no chocolate, no herbs, no fuss. And then I found it! On a blog, which blogger has it from a fellow blogger, who owns it from her Scottish grandfather!

Scottish Shortbread

 If you are not familiar with shortbread. I give you a short dive into the taste and texture of that shortbread. It’s crumbly, but not allover. Everything holds together, but on the edges it crumbles. It’s flaky, maybe you can see some layered flakes in the picture. Those layers brake apart in your mouth. And then comes the buttery taste.  There’s a lot of butter in there, but it doesn’t taste like your eating pure butter. Simple, but somehow complex. Maybe just delicious. So don’t keep your hands from that recipe, because of the butter, you will regret that! And yes you can eat more than one piece. Because they are lighter than you think.

You don’t need a special ingredient, it’s all there in the kitchen. Go and make them!

Scottish Shortbread

I never were really fond of shortbread. Scottish or not. We didn’t even tried some, as we were in Scotland last year. We just brought some home as a gift. I ate some of the gift myself. But I’m not ashamed, since it revealed the tastiness of shortbread to me. Scottish shortbread. I don’t know how Irish tastes or other. So I’m only referring to Scottish.

Lately I thought again of the shortbread. And I thought of a try years ago to produce shortbread. It was a recipe of Jamie Oliver. It was not good. Since then I had a slightly aversion against shortbread. Sorry Jamie. But there was no reference of the Scottish there. A glimmer of hope? Well, I searched the internet for a simple shortbread recipe, no chocolate, no herbs, no fuss. And then I found it! On a blog, which blogger has it from a fellow blogger, who owns it from her Scottish grandfather!

Scottish Shortbread

 If you are not familiar with shortbread. I give you a short dive into the taste and texture of that shortbread. It’s crumbly, but not allover. Everything holds together, but on the edges it crumbles. It’s flaky, maybe you can see some layered flakes in the picture. Those layers brake apart in your mouth. And then comes the buttery taste.  There’s a lot of butter in there, but it doesn’t taste like your eating pure butter. Simple, but somehow complex. Maybe just delicious. So don’t keep your hands from that recipe, because of the butter, you will regret that! And yes you can eat more than one piece. Because they are lighter than you think.

You don’t need a special ingredient, it’s all there in the kitchen. Go and make them!

Scottish Shortbread

Flan TarteFlan Tart

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

As a child I didn’t like flan. It was too slippery and wobbly for me. Today I really like it. I like Flan, Crème Caramel, Crème Brûlée. And Crème Brûlée really works well. But as I tried to cook Flan some weeks ago, I wasn’t very successful. The caramel just didn’t want to caramelize. Then it didn’t wanted to harden in the moulds. I was really disappointed. And the worst thing was, I didn’t know why! I even do not know it today. I looked up several cook books and blogs, but they weren’t a helping hand.

As I looked through the blogs, some unknown, some of my favourites, I discovered something called Flan Tart on Aran’s blog. I’ve never tried something like this, although we spend a lot of holidays in Spain. Also I read, that the tart is somehow popular in Spain. Now I know why!

Flan Tart

I infused my Flan Tart only with vanilla beans, because I wanted to get as near as possible to the original Flan. I think it worked. Of course, you can’t expect a Flan. But a Flan formed in a tart, with a taste almost as Flan and a bit of the texture. Just no caramel. That was just the right thing for me, as I remember my caramel experiences.

Flan Tart

The tart looks like a lot of work, but it is not. You need to make a pastry crust (choose your favourite one or use the recipe I recommend below) and then the filling, which is no magic art. I recommend to bake this tart in a small spring form. I used a 20 cm one.

Be careful in the last minutes of baking. My tart burned a bit on the surface. But luckily the burned parts could be easily peeled off (maybe you see it in the picture below, that there’s a part of the surface, that is out of harmony with the rest).

Flan Tart

As a child I didn’t like flan. It was too slippery and wobbly for me. Today I really like it. I like Flan, Crème Caramel, Crème Brûlée. And Crème Brûlée really works well. But as I tried to cook Flan some weeks ago, I wasn’t very successful. The caramel just didn’t want to caramelize. Then it didn’t wanted to harden in the moulds. I was really disappointed. And the worst thing was, I didn’t know why! I even do not know it today. I looked up several cook books and blogs, but they weren’t a helping hand.

As I looked through the blogs, some unknown, some of my favourites, I discovered something called Flan Tart on Aran’s blog. I’ve never tried something like this, although we spend a lot of holidays in Spain. Also I read, that the tart is somehow popular in Spain. Now I know why!

Flan Tart

I infused my Flan Tart only with vanilla beans, because I wanted to get as near as possible to the original Flan. I think it worked. Of course, you can’t expect a Flan. But a Flan formed in a tart, with a taste almost as Flan and a bit of the texture. Just no caramel. That was just the right thing for me, as I remember my caramel experiences.

Flan Tart

The tart looks like a lot of work, but it is not. You need to make a pastry crust (choose your favourite one or use the recipe I recommend below) and then the filling, which is no magic art. I recommend to bake this tart in a small spring form. I used a 20 cm one.

Be careful in the last minutes of baking. My tart burned a bit on the surface. But luckily the burned parts could be easily peeled off (maybe you see it in the picture below, that there’s a part of the surface, that is out of harmony with the rest).

Flan Tart