Viennese Whirls

Bake off technical challenge two came round in a whirl! (the wittiest my humour gets)

These biscuits are the shortiest shortbread ever with a crumble and then a melt in the mouth. They are definitely worth making because they taste great and have a rewarding finish to them too!

The recipe is of course by Mary Berry again and I think is a real winner.

Makes 14-16 | Prep time 30 minutes | Cooking time 30 to 60 minutes

Ingredients

For the jam

200g raspberries

250g jam sugar

For the biscuits

250g very soft unsalted butter

50g icing sugar

225g plain flour

25g cornflour

For the filling

100g unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

½ tsp vanilla extra

Method

1. For the jam, put the raspberries in a small, deep-sided saucepan and crush them using a potato masher. Add the sugar and bring to the boil over a low heat. When the sugar is melted, increase the heat and boil for a further 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully pour into a shallow container (pass it through a sieve if you'd rather not have seeds in your jam). Leave to cool and set.

2. For the biscuits, preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Line 3 baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment. Using a 5cm/2in round cutter as a guide, draw 8 circles on each sheet of paper, spaced well apart. Turn the paper over so the pencil marks are underneath.

3. Measure the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Sift in the flour and cornflour and beat well, until thoroughly mixed. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a medium star nozzle. Pipe 24 swirled rounds (not rosettes), inside the circles on the baking sheets. Place the baking trays in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 10 minutes to try to maintain the shape of the rounds while in the oven.

4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 13—15 minutes, until a pale golden-brown. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and harden.

5. For the filling, measure the butter into a bowl and sift the icing sugar on top. Add the vanilla extract and beat with a wooden spoon or an electric whisk until very light and smooth. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.

6. Spoon a little jam onto the flat side of 12 of the biscuits and place jam-side up on a cooling rack. Pipe the buttercream over the jam and sandwich with the remaining biscuits. Dust with icing sugar to finish.