recipe: scrummy chocolate shortbreads ... with a raspberry cream filling

It was the school cake sale today so I got my thinking cap on and came up with these beauties. In the words of my boy, 'wow mum, you're a real inventor!' - it's not easy impressing a nine year old boy, so I was a little bit pleased with myself!

They are reeeeally simple to make, perfect as a valentine's dessert, but sweet enough that they went down a storm with the kiddos.

Chocolate shortbread ... with a raspberry cream filling

For the shortbread (I used a basic shortbread recipe, but switched 50g of the flour for 50g of cocoa)

• 130g plain flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 55g golden caster sugar
• 125g salted butter, softened

For the filling

• 150g raspberries
• 100ml double cream
• 1tsp icing sugar

To prepare the biscuits
1. Heat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas 3
2. Mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the flour a little at a time, and mix with your hand until it forms a soft dough.
4. Turn on to your work surface and roll out until it is only about 1/2cm thick (I find it easier to roll out the dough between two sheets of greaseproof paper to prevent sticking). Cut into shapes using a biscuit cutter - it's February, so it had to be hearts!
5. Line your baking tray with baking parchment and place the biscuits on the tray, leaving enough room for the dough to spread whilst cooking. Chill in the fridge for 20mins.
6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for only 8-10 mins, it will cook quickly as the dough is rolled out thinly. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

To prepare the cream filling
1. lightly whisk the cream until it is starting to thicken (you don't want it to be too stiff, it is much prettier if it is soft and can ooze out of the side of the biscuits).
2. Put the raspberries in a bowl with about half a teaspoon of icing sugar to bring out the juice from the berries. Mash together with a fork until it forms a juicy pulp. Taste and add a little more icing sugar if too sharp.
3. Add the raspberry pulp to the cream and roughly blend together (not too much as it is nice to see the stripes of dark red through the cream).

To fill the shortbread sandwiches (I made up each sandwich on demand so that the biscuits didn't go soggy ... although they were demolished with such speed that I could have made them all at once afterall!)
1. Once the biscuits are completely cool, plop a dollop of cream on to the reverse side of a biscuit. Spread it around, but not too close to the edges.
2. Place a second biscuit, reverse side down, onto the creamy filling and gently press together to make the filling ooze out of the edges. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

Et voilà ... scrummy chocolate shortbread sandwiches.