Ginger topped shortbread fingers

This recipe has been on my “to bake” list for a while and I finally got round to making it this week. I was attracted to the recipe as it used lots of my favourite components but in a novel way.

Shortbread biscuits can do little wrong in my eyes but I’d never seen a recipe for ginger shortbread before – that’s what forms the base here:


I think I must have bored everyone on the planet with my love of golden syrup – here it’s used to make a sticky ginger topping for the shortbread. Divine! The topping is so shiny you can see my camera flash in it:


Cut the biscuit into fingers; this is best done when the biscuits have cooled a little but haven’ t totally firmed up:


I think these biscuits look rather stylish when finished and it belies just how easy they are to make.


The shortbread has a lovely open texture; I paused my eating long enough to snap this picture:


Ingredients:
For the biscuit base:
225g plain flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
85g golden caster sugar
175g unsalted butter

For the ginger topping:
55g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Optional: white glace icing
2 tablespoons icing sugar
water (add tiny drops at a time)

How to make:

- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Grease and line a 28cm x 18cm tin (the sort of tin you would use for traybakes). I strongly recommend lining the tin as it makes it easier to remove the biscuits.
- Put the flour, ginger, and caster sugar in a bowl and mix together.
- Rub in the butter until the mixture starts to form biscuity clumps.
- Press the mixture into the tin and level.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the shortbread is lightly browned. Mine took exactly 40 minutes.
- About 5 minutes before the biscuit base is baked, start making the topping. This is because you want to be able to pour the topping over the straight-from-the-oven shortbread base.
- Melt the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan. Keep the heat low as you do not want to burn the butter.
- Stir in the icing sugar and ginger and ensure the mixture is smooth, glossy and lump free.
- Take the shortbread from the oven and pour the topping over straight away. Spread with a knife to ensure the topping is evenly distributed.
- Leave to cool slightly i.e. approximately 30 minutes, and then cut into 16 fingers. This is easiest when the biscuit base has firmed up a bit but is not hard.
- If you wish to add some white icing swirls simply mix together the icing sugar and water until you have a thick white icing. Either pipe or spoon over the ginger fingers.
- Leave to cool completely. I left the fingers in the tin until I served them.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.