Just in time for baking season, here is our take on the Australian classic, Iced Vovos. These little gems are light and perfect with a cup of tea (or glass of champagne.) Enjoy!
recipe
By Gastronomy Pastry Chef, Lee Turford
Makes 60 petits fours
These hold well for 3 days once baked
the biscuit base
Ingredients
125g butter
1/3 of a cup plus 1 dessertspoon icing sugar
1 ¼ cups plain flour
A pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla paste
Method
Beat the butter, vanilla and all the icing sugar until it is smooth
Add the yolk until combined
Sift together the flour and salt
Add to the butter and mix by hand until it is just combined. Don’t over work the dough, as it will lose its nice short texture, which allows it to melt in the mouth
Between two sheets of baking paper roll the dough out to about 3mm thick
Rest the rolled dough in the fridge for about 20 minutes
Cut with a fluted cookie cutter of about 45mm diameter
Put onto a baking tray lined with greased baking paper or silicon mat. Space the biscuits out as they will spread a little during baking
Dock each biscuit by making 6-8 holes with a fork. Docking the biscuit it will avoid any air bubbles from forming underneath during cooking, which can result in an un-even surface
Rest again on the bench for a further 30 minutes
Bake at 150°C (140°C fan forced) for up to 20 minutes, or until light golden brown
Leave to cool
raspberry jam jelly
Bought jam can be used but here is a good jam recipe if you want to go completely from scratch as we do in our kitchen
Ingredients
150g frozen raspberries
½ teaspoon pectin NH
5 dessertspoons caster sugar
1 dessertspoon lemon juice
Method
Bring the raspberries to the boil
Add the pectin NH and sugar to the raspberries
Boil for 2 min, add lemon juice, combine and remove from heat
Strain out the seeds by pressing the mix through a strainer, discard the seeds
Cool and refrigerate
marshmallow mix
Ingredients
10g gelatine sheets (most sheets are 2.5g)
¼ cup water
Just under 1 cup castor sugar
2 dessertspoons glucose syrup
2 small egg whites (or 1 ¾ whites if larger eggs)
1 dessertspoon of raspberry jam jelly (recipe above)
Method
Soak gelatine in cold water
Combine the sugar, water and glucose in a pot and heat to 130°C, remove from heat
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks
Drain the gelatine sheets, discard soaking water
Add softened gelatine and raspberry jelly to hot sugar mix, combine
While the mixer is running on low speed pour a steady stream of the sugar mix into the whites mix until well combined, stop before it has completely cooled or it will become gluggy and start to set. You are looking for a shaving foam consistency
to assemble
¼ cup desiccated coconut
With a piping bag and star nozzle, pipe the marshmallow on to the biscuits in a circle. Place a small dollop of jam on top and sprinkle with desiccated coconut
Leave to set