PRINJOLATA

A traditional Maltese Carnival Dessert made with homemade biscuits, nuts and buttercream covered with cream and other toppings

Ingredients:

Biscuits:

300g/10.6oz Plain Flour

300g/10.6 Self-Raising Flour

300g/10.6oz Unsalted Butter

200g/7oz Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Tbls Baking Powder

1 Tbls Vanilla Essence

Butter Cream Filling:

250g/8.8oz Unsalted Butter

175g/6.2oz Icing Sugar

1 Tbls Vanilla Essence

2 Egg Whites

100g/3.5oz Castor Sugar

Grated Zest of an Orange and Lemon

150g/5.3oz Blanched Almonds, roasted and roughly chopped

150g/5.3oz Roasted Hazelnuts, roughly chopped

100g/3.5oz Pine Nuts, roasted

110g/3.9oz Milk Cadbury Chocolate, chopped

1 Tbls Vermouth

To Decorate:

1 Pkt Topping Mix

1 Elmlea Double Cream (Heavy Cream)

50g/1.76oz Dark Chocolate

Cherries

Almonds

Crushed Hazelnuts

Method:

To make the Biscuits –

Beat the sugar, vanilla and butter together until creamy. Lightly beat in the eggs then fold in the flours and baking powder.

On a floured surface knead the dough, form into a thick cigar shape and cut into 1cm disks. Put the discs onto a baking sheet and bake in oven 180C/350F for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely.

To make the Butter Cream –

Beat the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and citrus zests together until creamy and fluffy. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and castor sugar until stiff and thick and fold into the butter cream.

Chop the biscuits into cubes and put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter cream and the rest of the filling ingredients. Line the inside of your bowls with clingfilm and press the filling inside. Refrigerate a few hours before decorating. Just in case you cannot remove the filling from the bowl put it in a larger bowl with hot water for a few minutes and it will easily slip out.