SHORTCAKE CUPS
 140 g plain flour, plus extra for shaping cups
 70 g caster sugar
 85 g chilled butter, cut into small pieces
 25 g ground almonds
 1 egg, beaten
TOPPING
 200 g mascarpone cheese
 8 tablespoons luxury lemon curd, divided
 6 whole small strawberries, hulled
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas 4.
  2. For shortcake cups, mix flour and sugar in Classic Batter Bowl; work in butter using Pastry Blender until mixture resembles breadcrumbs (see Chef’s Corner).
  3. Stir in ground almonds; add beaten egg, mixing to form a soft dough. Shape dough into 24 even balls.
  4. Place balls of dough into un-greased wells of Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan. Dip Mini-Tart Shaper in flour, press into dough to form shortcake cups.
  5. Bake 15 – 20 minutes, or until shortcake is light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool in pan 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer cups from pan to Stackable Cooking Rack; cool completely.
  6. Meanwhile, for topping, in Small Batter Bowl, mix mascarpone cheese and 6 tablespoons of the lemon curd until well blended.
  7. Fill Easy Accent® Decorator fitted with round tip with topping. Pipe topping decoratively into each cup, dividing evenly.
  8. Carefully spoon a ¼ teaspoon lemon curd over each cup. Top each cup with one strawberry quarter. Serve immediately or refrigerate until required.
Yield: 24
Per serving: Energy 500kJ/120kcal, Protein 1.4g, Carbohydrate 11.1g, Sugars 5.4g, Fat 8.1g, Saturated fat 4.6g, Fibre 0.3g, Salt 0.1g
Cook’s Tip: Use the Pastry Blender with an up and down movement together with a slight rocking motion to blend the ingredients. You can spoon the mascarpone topping into the shortcake cups using a teaspoon instead of piping it, if desired. Raspberries or blueberries can be substituted for strawberries, if desired.
© 2014 The Pampered Chef used under license.