I thought it would be bad to not supply you with a totally simple gluten free recipe for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee festivities sooo huzzah! Here it is in all it’s glory; a gorgeous Fresh Raspberry and Vanilla Mascarpone Shortbread Tart.
I’ve seen lots of recipes in food magazines over the past weeks, all very much trying to replicate the British flag in cake form, and while this is fantastic – and I love a good cooking challenge, I know some of us will just want to enjoy the extra day off we get rather than spend hours in the kitchen moulding icing in the shape of her majesty’s face.
Like most cheesecakey tarty things, the base and filling can be made in advance- and for the better even, as the base becomes much firmer after a good night in the fridge.
The shortbread biscuits I used were Sunstart one’s but I’m sure any would do the job, and if you can’t find any gluten free shortbread biscuits you can use what ever you can find really, I reckon using custard creams would make an unusual base, you would get a rather ice creamy taste. Yum.
Simple Gluten Free Fresh Raspberry and Vanilla Mascarpone Shortbread Tart
If you do want it to be more like a cheesecake just double all amounts.
Base:
500g Gluten Free shortbread biscuits (about 18)
100g melted unsalted butter
Filling:
1 Vanilla Pod
250g mascarpone
100g cream cheese
1 tbsp of icing sugar
Topping:
300g Fresh Raspberries
Pop the shortbread biscuits into a hole-free plastic bag (I learnt the hard way) and smash them into tiny pieces. This is good for getting out any aggression.
Melt the butter and stir into the crumbly biscuit mixture in a big bowl, making sure all the crumbs are covered.
Pour the biscuit mixture into a 23” springform or loose tart or cake tin.
Pop in the fridge while you make the filling
Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrap the seeds out carefully with a knife.
Stir the vanilla seeds and the rest of the filling ingredients in a big bowl
Taste, if it’s not sweet enough for you add a tiny bit more icing sugar but bear in mind the shortbread base is very sweet.
Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base and flatten with the back of a spoon or spatula.
Leave in the fridge to set (overnight does a good job but a couple of hours would be fine too)
Top with the fresh raspberries
Serve at your Jubilee afternoon tea! Enjoy !
