Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Tuesdays with Dorie - Hungarian Shortbread

Yowza! A whopping pound of butter!  That was my first thought when I scanned the recipe for this delectable treat.  It's so buttery an adaptation of the recipe was featured in Issue #109 of Saveur ... the Butter issue!.

The Hungarians call this Omlos Teasutemeny (oom-loosh TAY-ahsh-soo-teh-men-ee) which I still can't pronounce even with the phonetic spelling!  The Czechs have a version called Cukrovi that includes nuts in the jam filling.  True Scottish shortbread is made with only butter, flour, and sugar ... no eggs.  But none of that matters 'cause this jam-filled treat is addictively declicious!

I figured with dough this rich I needed to keep the filling on the tart side.  So, for the rhubarb jam, I cut the sugar down by 2 tablespoons, added 1/2 c. chopped strawberries for color and pectin, and a handful of chopped candied ginger for some zing.  Because I couldn't find fresh rhubarb and had to use frozen, I reduced the 1/2 c. water to 1/4 c.  The jam was a little loose after cooking, but it thickened up after a day in the refrigerator.
Rhubarb jam with the addition of strawberries and candied ginger.


The dough came together beautifully in the stand mixer and after a day in the freezer, it grated easily.  What a unique technique -- grating frozen dough!  I used 1/2 the dough divided again, and substituted a 10" springform pan for the oblong.  I think a 10' tart pan with a removable bottom would have worked just as well.  This means I have 1/2 the dough to make this again soon...and until then I am dreaming up all kinds of fillings like this one.   For a little history on where Gale Gand got the recipe visit Epicurious here.  It looks like this recipe started out as Lydia's Austrian Raspberry Shortbread.  Check out Lotte + Doof's version here.
Preparing for the oven in a springform pan
Ready to bake



HUNGARIAN SHORTBREAD - From Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

THE JAM
     1 lb. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
     1/2 c. sugar
     1/2 c. water
     1/2 vanilla bean
Place the rhubarb, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan.  Split the vanilla bean, scrape the soft, pulpy seeds into the pan, and toss in the pod.  Bring to a simmer over low heat, and cook, stirring often, until the rhubarb softens and almost seems to melt.  The cooking time will depend on the rhubarb, but it probably won't be more than 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat, retrieve the vanilla bean and discard (or save, rinse, dry, and use to flavor sugar).  If  using the candied ginger, eliminate the vanilla bean.

THE SHORTBREAD
     4 c. all  purpose flour
     2 t. baking powder
     1/4 t. salt
     4 sticks (1 lb.) unsalted butter, room temperature
     4 large egg yolks
     2 c. granulated sugar
    
     Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.  In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand-held mixer), beat the butter on high speed until it is pale and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks and sugar and beat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the ingredients are incoporated.

Turn the dough out onto your work surface and cut in half.  Shape each half into a ball and wrap each ball in plastic.  Freeze the dough for about 30 minutes until firm.  You can freeze the dough, tightly wrapped, for up to a month at this point.  Thaw overnight, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

Assembling and baking:  Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Remove one ball of dough from the freezer and, using the side of a box grater with the largest holes, grate the dough into a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.  Pat the dough gently just to get it into the corners (you don't want to press it down) and spread with the rhubarb jam.  Grate the remaining dough over the jam and press it lightly to distribute evenly.  Bake the shortbread for abut 40 minutes, or until golden brown.  Dust with confectioner's sugar after cooling completely.


Visit my co-host Cher at The not so exciting adventueres of a dabbler for her version of Hugarian Shortbread and check out the TWD-BWJ blog roll here to see the other bakers' creative takes on this delicious confection.


37 comments:

Elaine said...

What a pretty slice. I like that you have such a thick layer of jam. I really enjoyed the rhubarb jam and it sounds delicious with the strawberries and ginger. Thank you for hosting this week!

ostwestwind said...

Thanks for hosting, I also made it in a round pan.

Ulrike @Küchenlatein

Andrea_TheKitchenLioness said...

Thank you very much for hosting this week, Lynette. Wonderful photos of the different steps of preparation, the jam and the shortbread. I chose a round baking pan as well. Seems to make for a pretty presentation.

Have a great week!

Cindy said...

Thanks so much for hosting this week Lynette. I voted for this recipe because we have a bumper crop of rhubarb and it is ready right now! Perfect timing--we loved it!

Sweet and That's it said...

Greetings from Switzerland <3

Thank you for hosting Lynette. Your shortcake with the homemade strawberry jam looks delicious.
I loved it, and though I'd reduced the butter by 1/3 it still was great!
Thanks for baking along!

baker in disguise said...

am also more taken in with the strawberry and candied ginger addition to the rhubarb... :)

Cakelaw said...

This was good - I enjoyed it, butter and all.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Mmmmmmm....I love your tweaks...and your wedges :) Thanks for hosting us!!!

Marlise said...

Beautiful cake!!!
I loved reading about the history of the cake and the recipe. Thanks for doing the research. And thanks for hosting!

Cher Rockwell said...

How fitting that this was in the butter issue :-) A pound of butter, indeed.
Thanks for co-hosting this week!
They look great (I used round pans too)

Melanie said...

Yes, my eyes popped out my head when I saw the amt of butter required. I cut the recipe in half, to save on butter & calories:) Love the pie slice pieces. So much prettier for presentation. I wondered if frozen rhubarb could be used. Really like your modifications to the rhubarb jam. I'll have to try it later this spring. Thanks for hosting!!

jane said...

It looks beautiful, love the addition of ginger!!

Anonymous said...

Holy wow! You went all out. It looks so delicious. I love the addition of candied ginger. Yummy!

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes said...

Nice story you told about this recipe. Your pictures look great! Thanks for hosting!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting! YOur shortbread looks great!

Miette said...

Looks delicious! I am going to make again with a thicker layer of jam and make some homemade with fresh rhubarb.

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

I love that you used the round pan! Looks delicious! Thanks for hosting this time!:)

Janet said...

Great post! I think you are absolutely right about a tart filling. Rhubarb isn't available for us yet but I'm waiting to try this one again with lots of yummy, tart filling!

missymey said...

thanks for hosting. your jam looks 100 times better than mine did. :)

Tammy said...

Those strawberries really helped with the color. My 100% rhubarb jam was a little greyish -- significantly less picture-worthy, but still tasty.

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

Thanks for hosting!

Looks delish!

~Carmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/twd-baking-with-julia-hungarian-shortbread-with-homemade-strawberry-jam/

Kathy said...

Thanks for hosting this week! I really enjoyed your post. Your shortbread looks gorgeous…wish I thought of only baking half! I froze half of mine. Happy May Day!

marilyn said...

Great to extend the recipe so you can make it again. Like the fruit filling peaking through the top layer. thanks for hosting!

Spike said...

that is a lot of butter! Thanks for hosting. This was a fun recipe

Betsy said...

Thanks for hosting this week! I love the idea of adding candied ginger to the rhubarb to give it even more punch. And the lovely wedges are very elegant. Nice job!

Sara said...

Looks superb! I think the strawberries would have been the perfect addition!

Amanda said...

thanks for hosting! I love the look of the round pan, it looks almost like a crumble or a crisp, so delicious looking!

Anonymous said...

I agree, I thought it needed the sour filling to offset the sweetness of the shortbread! Adding strawberries is sheer genius!!! I bet it was amazing!

Fernando said...

I didn't know we were supposed to grate it hahaha I guess I should have read the whole thing!!

Melissa said...

Love the idea of only making half and saving the rest of the dough for later. I'm going to remember that the next time I make these. Thanks for hosting!

meecee said...

This looks great and is surely delish. However, as a Hungarian living in Hungary I can tell you for sure that this is definitely not a specifically Hungarian cake. Omlós teasütemény does exist but it is a general term used for all kinds of individual sweet cookies.

Beth said...

Ginger makes everything better! This shortbread looks amazing.

Jaime said...

thanks for hosting! these were delicious!

Jora said...

Thanks for hosting, your photos are gorgeous! Thanks for the link to the epicurious story about the recipe - very interesting.

Teresa said...

Thanks for hosting this week - your shortbread looks great. We just made this yesterday and it's shockingly good. I'm looking forward to checking out all the links you posted.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

what a fabulous color on your jam! that must have been delicious. thanks for hosting...we enjoyed this one.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

what a fabulous color on your jam! that must have been delicious. thanks for hosting...we enjoyed this one.