Our founder’s recipe for the crumbliest, most buttery treat.

A recipe refined and perfected by our founder, Beatrice Tollman, this crumbly shortbread is available in all of our hotels, served atop an afternoon tea stand or as a delicious Turndown treat. If you enjoyed creating our founder's shortbread at home, share with us on Instagram, tagging @redcarnationhotels. Ingredients: 340g plain/all-purpose flour 95g caster sugar 250g butter 1⁄2 teaspoon salt Method: Place the butter into the freezer for a few hours before starting to make the shortbread. Grate the frozen butter and mix with the dry ingredients. Mix the butter, flour and salt together until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs (don’t over mix). Line a square 23cm pan with parchment paper and pour in the mixture, pressing down slightly to flatten the top (it should be about 3cm high). Bake at 120°C for 55 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sugar when it comes out of the oven. Let the shortbread cool completely before cutting (overnight is best). This recipe was taken from ‘A Life in Food’, which details Beatrice Tollman’s career creating both savoury and sweet dishes for guests for over 60 years.

How to make perfect shortbread

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