Almond Shortbread with Rosewater

Easy Almond Shortbread recipe flavoured with Rosewater

If you have never baked in your life, this easy Almond Shortbread recipe with a hint of rose flavour, is a fantastic place to start. It is buttery, soft and crumbly and made in under half an hour. Perfect for a morning snack or a teatime treat.

I always add ground almonds to my shortbread as I think they improve both the flavour and texture. Homemade shortbread has a softer texture than the shop-bought version and, if you make your own, you can play around with the flavours a bit. I am a big fan of rose-flavoured recipes and decided to add a bit of rosewater to my usual easy shortbread recipe. I was really pleased with the result which manages to be both comfortingly familiar and a little bit different.

Almond shortbread

What you need to know about Almond Shortbread

  • This is a really easy recipe which makes it perfect for those who are not experienced bakers. It is also a great recipe if you want to cook with younger children or for older children to cook by themselves. I made a version of this recipe (without the rosewater) when I was in primary school whenever we visited by grandfather who was extremely fond of shortbread.
  • It is also a very quick recipe – from bowl to table in under half an hour. This makes it great for a bit of spontaneous weekend baking but also good if you suddenly need to make something quickly. It has saved the day for me on several occasions when I have realised that I have not produced anything for the school bake sale. Not many baked goods can be produced in the time it takes to have breakfast.
  • The quantities in this recipe make eight thick pieces of shortbread. However, it is really easy to make more by doubling the ingredients and either using two 20 cm (8 inch) pie tins or one 30 cm (12 inch) tin. Make sure that the depth of the mixture in the tin is about one cm (half an inch).
  • I always use butter in this recipe as I prefer the flavour. However, if you are a vegan or wish to avoid dairy products, you can use a non-dairy substitute instead of the butter.
  • In this recipe, I flavoured my shortbread with culinary rosewater, which is available from most supermarkets. However, if you prefer a plain shortbread you can just leave it out.
Almond shortbread

Other rose-flavoured recipes

I love to use rosewater as a flavouring. If you are inspired by this shortbread recipe, you might like to have a look at my Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake as another teatime treat. For dessert, you could try Rose and Raspberry Pavlova, Rose Meringues or fragrant Rose Ice-cream.

Other easy shortbread and biscuit recipes

Baking shortbread or biscuits (cookies) is a really good place to start for inexperienced bakers. They are generally very easy and do not take very long to bake. If you like this recipe, you might also like my Lavender Shortbread or simple Lemon Biscuits (Cookies). I also have a great Cheese Biscuit recipe, which you can make with or without chilli, if you want a savoury snack.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Almond shortbread

Recipe for Almond Shortbread with Rosewater

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Almond shortbread

Almond Shortbread with Rosewater

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 8 pieces of shortbread 1x
  • Category: Biscuits
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This simple Almond Shortbread, flavoured with rosewater, is soft and crumbly and made in under half an hour.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 180 g (6 oz) plain flour
  • 125 g (4 oz) butter
  • 55 g (2 oz) caster sugar
  • 60 g (2 oz) ground almonds
  • 1 teaspoon of culinary rosewater
  • A little extra caster sugar

Almond shortbread


Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4. 
  2. Sift the flour into a large bowl.  Add the butter and combine –  either by “rubbing in” by hand or processing – until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  
  3. Stir in the sugar and the ground almonds.
  4. Add the rosewater.
  5. Tip the mixture into a 20 cm (8 inch) loose-based pie tin.   Press the mixture into the tin using the back of a spoon.   
  6. Put the tin into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.   The shortbread will be done when it is light golden brown in colour.
  7. Remove from the oven.  Score the shortbread into segments eight segments using a sharp knife.  Sprinkle with a little caster sugar while still warm.  Allow the shortbread to cool in the tin.

Keywords: shortbread, almond, rose, easy

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with the Lost in Food and #Fiesta Friday with Fiesta Friday  and  Laurena @ Life Diet Health

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Cherry and Almond Cake

Cherry and Almond Cake – an English teatime classic!

This Cherry and Almond Cake fills me with nostalgia! It is a homemade version of the shop-bought cake that I remember from my childhood and which made a regular appearance at teatime. Even if you don’t have similar memories, there is something particularly traditional about this cake. It is the kind of cake that you would expect to be served on a China plate by your grandmother in front of an open fire with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea.

I love the glossy red glace cherries which look beautiful and give the cake nuggets of juicy sweetness. They may be a bit retro but it’s that kind of cake. I try and use the natural dark red glace cherries rather than the bright red dyed ones.

The combination of cherry and almond flavours is a classic. Almond and cherry trees are both members of the Prunus family and have a strong flavour affinity. Other members of the Prunus family include plums, peaches and nectarines and all these fruit combine well with almonds. In fact, almond extract is often made from the stones of these fruit because they have a stronger almond taste than actual almonds!

This Cherry and Almond Cake is one of many loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Salted Caramel Latte Cake, Lemon Drizzle, Blood Orange, Lime and Coconut, Rum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

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Cherry and Almond Cake

Cherry and Almond Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Cherry and Almond Cake is an English classic.   Juicy glace cherries and ground almonds are the perfect teatime flavour combination.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 200 g glace cherries
  • 250 g self-raising flour
  • 225 g salted butter
  • 175 g golden caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 100 g ground almonds
  • 6 tablespoons milk

Cherry and Almond Cake


Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.  Alternatively, use a paper loaf tin liner.
  3. Wash the cherries to remove the stickiness and then cut each one  in half.  Dry with some kitchen roll.
  4. Cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier.)
  5. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  6. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour and the ground almonds.
  7. Add the milk to the mixture.  Then add the cherries.
  8. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  9. Put the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 1 hour.  It is done when it is golden and springy to the touch.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. 
  11. When the cake is cool, remove it from the tin. 

Keywords: cherry, almond, cake, recipe, homemade

Link-ups

This recipe is linked to Bake Of The Week hosted by Casa Costello and Mummy Mishaps

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