Our Head Chef Jenny Flynn always uses this recipe for all biscuits made in-house and adds different flavours as desired. These shortbread cookies are served with all teas and coffee in the hotel and are a nice treat when staying with us. Sift the flour onto a worktop and make a well in the centre. Dice the butter, place it into the well and work with your fingertips until very soft. Sift the icing sugar onto the butter, add salt, and work into the butter & icing sugar mix. Add egg yolks into the mixture with rind and lemon juice and mix well. Gradually draw in the flour and mix until a soft dough is formed. Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper or cling film and allow it to rest in the fridge. Remove from fridge, roll out, and cut as required. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle with castor sugar and serve   Visit Our Shop

For the Batter “This is a good carrot cake and I sprinkle it with a great oat CRUMBLE for even more flavour and texture.” Carrots — and other vegetables, such as zucchini — add moisture to cake batters.   Carrots are so plentiful that we often take them for granted, but all carrots are not alike. The quality makes a big difference when they’re a major part of the recipe.   Combine the sugar and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod, add them to the sugar mixture, and mix for 30 seconds to distribute the seeds evenly. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the eggs, in three batches and mix on medium speed for about 1 minute, until just incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 15 seconds after each, or until just combined.   Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that may have settled there. Stir in the carrots. Transfer the batter to a covered container and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 36 hours. To bake the cake: Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 C . grease your cake tin with butter or non-stick spray.   Spoon the batter evenly into the tin, sprinkle the crumble on top and press gently into the batter. Place the tin in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 325 F/160 C, and bake for 40 to 43 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely.   The cake is best the day it is baked, but it can be wrapped individually in a few layers of plastic wrap or stored in a single layer in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 week.   For The Oat Crumble Topping Combine all of the ingredients except the vanilla bean and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix at low speed to combine. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean, add them to the dry mixture, and mix until evenly distributed. Add in the butter and mix for about 1 minute, or until the butter is incorporated, with no large chunks remaining.   Transfer to a covered container or a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. Use the crumble while it is cold.   * Note on mixing the cake batter: When mixing a cake batter, it is important not to overwhip the eggs, as that could cause the cake to expand too much during baking and then deflate. The mixture may look split after you whip in the eggs, but that is fine.   For the Cream Cheese Icing Whisk at medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk the butter, vanilla and icing sugar to a creamy consistency add the cream cheese mix very well until smooth   Visit Our Shop