These buttery oat shortcakes are crisp on the skin, tender inside and simply rustic sufficient to really feel inviting. Full of honey-roasted apricots and a aromatic almond cream, they make a wonderful pudding; berries macerated with sugar and a splash of orange juice or Cointreau would even be scrumptious.
Oat shortcakes with honey-roasted apricots and almond cream
Prep 15 min
Chill 30 min
Cook dinner 1 hr 10 min, plus cooling
Makes 6
For the shortcakes
100g rolled oats
225g plain flour, plus further for stamping out the dough
70g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp nice sea salt
Finely grated zest of 1 orange (save the juice for the apricots)
120g chilly unsalted butter, reduce into 3-4cm cubes
120ml plain unsweetened kefir drink, plus further for brushing
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the apricots
500g ripe apricots, halved and pitted
60ml orange juice
60ml water
¼ tsp floor cardamom seeds (from about 8 pods), non-compulsory
A pinch of salt
60g runny honey
For the cream
300ml double cram
1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted, plus slightly further for dusting
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
Line a 20cm x 30cm baking tray with greaseproof paper. Pulse the oats in a meals processor till finely floor however not powdery, then add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda/bicarb, salt and orange zest, and pulse a number of occasions to mix and aerate.
Add the butter, pulse till the combination seems crumbly, then tip it into a big bowl. Add the kefir and vanilla, stir with a fork till it simply comes collectively in a shaggy dough, then out on to a calmly floured worktop and pat out right into a roughly 2½cm-thick disc.
Dip a 6-7cm biscuit cutter into flour, then stamp out as many rounds as potential. Prepare the shortcakes a number of centimetres aside on the lined tray, then collect the offcuts, press collectively calmly, then pat out and reduce out a number of extra rounds – it is best to find yourself with six altogether. Switch to the fridge for half-hour.
In the meantime, roast the apricots. Warmth the oven to 215C (195C fan)/fuel 6½ and take a baking dish giant sufficient to accommodate the apricots in a single layer and line it with baking paper.
Prepare the fruit reduce aspect up within the baking dish, then pour the orange juice and water over and round it. Sprinkle over the cardamom and salt, then drizzle with the honey. Bake for 20-25 minutes, basting and gently shaking the dish often, till the apricots are tender, collapsed and barely caramelised. Take away from the oven (depart the oven on) and depart to chill within the dish for a couple of minutes, then tip the apricots and their juices right into a bowl.
Flip down the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/fuel 6. Take away the shortcakes from the fridge and brush the tops of the shortcakes with slightly kefir, then bake for about 20 minutes, till golden brown on prime and the perimeters really feel agency when gently pressed. Depart to chill for at the very least quarter-hour earlier than serving.
In the meantime, put all of the components for the almond cream within the bowl of an electrical mixer and whisk on medium-high till the cream thickens to comfortable waves.
To serve, break up the shortcakes in half and place the bases on a platter. Spoon over among the roast apricots and their juices, prime with cream, then place the remaining shortcake halves on prime. Mud calmly with icing sugar and serve.