The Recipe

Ingredients:

• 100g Plain flour
• 50g Ground rice
• 50g Caster sugar
• 50g Butter
• Pinch of salt (only if the butter is unsalted)
• (Optional) half a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method:

Put all of the ingredients together in a bowl and rub the flour and butter together with your fingertipe (or a rubbing-in tool as in the picture), until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Using one hand, squeeze the mixture together to form a sold ball of dough.

Knead it on a lightly-floured surface for a while, until it becomes pliable.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about half a centimetre - cut into whatever shapes you like (I chose hearts).

Using a wide knife or other flat implement, transfer them carefully to a cookie sheet and prick them with a fork or cocktail stick - you can also emboss them with a decorative pattern if you like.

Chill them in the fridge for an hour

Preheat your oven to 150C - when it's up to temperature, take the shortbread out of the fridge and transfer directly to the oven.

Bake for about 20 minutes - keep an eye on them after halfway, as thin biscuits like this can burn easily if (like mine) your oven runs a bit hot.

When they are pale golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

I used these as a base for sweet canapés topped with Greek yoghurt and Chinese bramble fruits.

Variations

Obviously, you can form this shortbread into any shape you like - it may take a little longer to bake if you roll it thicker.

With a little care (in the rolling out and transferring into a dish) this recipe can be used to make a rich, crisp shortbread flan casing that would be ideal for fillings that require no further cooking - such as mousses, no-bake cheesecakes, or set fruit compotes.