My late maternal grandfather had the habit of clipping out articles of interest from newspapers and magazines to pass on to family. He would also scribble down bits of trivia he picked up from TV and radio onto the scraps of cigarette-box cardboard he kept in his pockets. I inherited the practice in my own way, and now use notebooks, Google Keep and my web browser’s bookmarks manager to organise all my keep-saves. I still have a box of clipped out recipes (some of them given to me by my grandfather) from when I was in high school and university, and hope to work through them all eventually.

Today, May 17th, is World Baking Day and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to go through that box of recipe clippings for inspiration. The base of this recipe for chocolate shortbread sandwiches was taken from a loyalty club magazine circa 1999. I added coffee and cloves for a warmer, richer flavour.

Once again I’ve partnered with Stork Bake to celebrate World Baking Day and you can join in too by visiting their web page (click here). There you’ll find all the information you need on how to enter an exciting baking competition, as well as access masterclasses from their pro bakers.

 

Chocolate and Coffee Shortbread Sandwiches (makes around 18 sandwiches)

  • 125 Stork Bake
  • 85g icing sugar
  • 125g flour
  • 40g cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground clove powder
  • 6g espresso powder (or the contents of one instant coffee pod)
  1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
  2. Beat the Stork Bake and sugar until light and creamy.
  3. Sift in the icing sugar, flour, cocoa powder and ground cloves.
  4. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula to combine.
  5. Use your hands to gather the mixture together to form a smooth dough.
  6. Place the dough between two sheets of wax wrap or parchment paper and roll it out until it is 2mm thick.
  7. Cut out shapes and bake for 20 minutes or until the biscuits are firm to the touch.
  8. Allow to cool slightly and place on a rack.
  9. Once cooled, use a ready made salted caramel or chocolate spread to sandwich.
  10. To make your own ganache, melt 125g dark chocolate and 50ml fresh cream on a low heat. Stir until combined. Place the mixture in the fridge for about an hour until thickened.