How to make jam bars inspired by ‘Melting Moments’

These treats are not only perfect for small tea parties but also for your trolley filled with sweet delights this Eid.

Saba Callea October 27, 2012


The recent “Masterchef” hype has made us all fall in love with Australia. The TV show presents a land that is beautiful and inhabited with kind, loving and of course, good looking people with a passion for food.

The latest season, that was aired on Star World, had everyone talking about the appetising dishes and exciting challenges. The mouthwatering food put up by the contestants, resulted in cravings and I ultimately wanted to try out their recipes. I am grateful to a young girl who informed me that the recipes were available on their website – I decided to try out the delightful recipe called Melting Moments by a competitor called Julia, also known as the Dessert Queen.


Glancing over the recipe, a wave of disappointment took over me as the measurements were in grams and not cups which makes it ever so difficult for me; cup measurements are quick and easy. The proportions, on the other hand, didn’t look workable in the hot and humid climate of Karachi either, adding to my troubles. So I decided to conjure up my own recipe and bring a twist to the whole concept.

To reduce my workload, I first decided to make bars instead of sandwich biscuits which were mentioned in the recipe. Secondly, I reduced the amount of butter to make the dough easy to handle. And lastly, I used orange essence instead of vanilla essence in the butter cream to give it a more unique and fresh flavour.

The little bars I made had a crisp biscuit base followed by a sticky jam layer further topped with a creamy orange butter cream dollop. The sweetness is balanced and as you bite it and go through the different layers of textures, you will see that each layer is unique in its own way. These treats are not only perfect for small tea parties but also for your trolley filled with sweet delights this Eid. Here is the recipe you must try:

Biscuit:

1/4 cup softened butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

3/4 cup flour

Two leveled tbsp custard powder (vanilla)

One tablespoon milk

Filling:

1/2 cup jam (preferably strawberry or raspberry)

Butter cream:

One tablespoon softened butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

One teaspoon orange essence

One teaspoon milk

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. For the biscuit base: add cream butter in a bowl and sift icing sugar in it until the texture is creamy and light. Then sift in the flour and custard powder and mix it with a spoon. When the texture is crumbly, add a tablespoon of milk and mix with the help of your hands to form a soft dough.

3. Press the dough in the shape of a square or rectangle to form bars or in small tart tins to give it a fancy look.

4. Now whisk up the jam to make it smooth and spreadable. Spread a nice thin layer of jam on the dough and place it in the oven.

5. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes till the edges are golden brown.

6. For the butter cream: beat the butter so that it’s creamy and sift in the icing sugar till the texture looks dry and crumbly. Add a teaspoon of milk and orange essence and mix to form a pearly-shiny icing. Note that the colour will lighten down following the addition of milk.

7. Lastly, fill the icing in a piping bag and pipe the cream over the cooled bars.

Read more by Saba here.
WRITTEN BY:
Saba Callea A foodie who is pursuing a Business degree from London School of Economics as an international student.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (2)

Parvez | 11 years ago | Reply The Australian JUNIOR Masterchef was amazing............I watched the full thing. I know of only one bakery (south Karachi area) that makes cookies (biscuits) that are really good........we could certainly have more.
Sumaiya | 11 years ago | Reply You know, you can always use grams-to-cups converter! Just write 'grams-to-cups converter' in whatever search engine you use and viola!
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