Melting Moments Biscuits (MasterChef)

To be honest, I made these melting moments purely out of curiosity... To be honest again, I did have a nice moment enjoying these biscuits melting in my mouth...

This melting moments recipe originates from Julia Taylor, one of the Australian MasterChef season 4 contestants who is also known as the dessert queen of season 4. Using this melting moments recipe, she had won two challenges on this reality cook show and have lots of great feedback on these biscuits from the judges. Knowing that, I must be crazy missing out baking this wonderful recipe...

Unlike most melting moment biscuits, this one has higher proportion of custard powder which make the biscuits really melt-y but slightly more on the sweeter sides. And, they can be even sweeter when they are sandwiched with the jam and buttercream. 

So naturally, you must be thinking a health conscious person like me will reduce the sugar content of this recipe if I'm baking these melting moments again but guess what? I would not... First of all, I reckon that this amount of sugar is essential to preserve the fruits if the melting moments are to be stored at room temperature. Secondly, I believe that this jam composition gives the jam a good consistency which will not wet the biscuits too much when I sandwich it. Last but not least...

Melting moments are full of butter anyway so why not enjoy these sweet melting moments as much as it is... Enjoy!

Making the mixed berries jam

Baking the biscuits

Assembling the melting moments

The moment of truth... this melting moment is really melting in my mouth... Yum!

Here's the recipe from the Australian MasterChef

(with my modification and notes in blue)

Makes: 5 large sandwiched biscuits

Biscuits
180g unsalted butter
60g icing sugar, sifted
60g custard powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
180g plain flour

Vanilla buttercream
100g butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
(replaced with vanilla beans from 1 pod for every tsp of paste required)
1 cup icing sugar, sifted

Raspberry jam
250g fresh or frozen raspberries
250g caster sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp gelatine powder
(for half amount, I replaced this 1 gelatin leaf - see note)

Icing sugar, to serve

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.

For biscuits, cream butter for 2 min in an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Add icing sugar and custard powder and mix until combined. Sift the baking powder and flour together then add to the dough and mix well. Roll dough into 40g balls, place on a baking paper lined baking tray and press each ball with a fork to leave an indent. Bake biscuits for 16-18 min or until light golden. Stand on trays 5 minutes to cool then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For buttercream, whisk butter and vanilla until smooth. Add icing sugar and beat until mixture
forms a paste, the consistency of thick icing. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle (I used Wilton no. 18).

For jam, place raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook for 20-30 min until thickened. Mix gelatine powder with one tbsp cold water together. Remove the jam from the heat, stir through gelatine mixture. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool in the fridge.

To assemble, place a spoonful of cooled jam on the base of half the biscuits. (I pre-warmed my jam a little before spreading onto my biscuits.) Pipe buttercream in circle onto the base of the other half of the biscuits. Gently press one of each biscuit together to form a melting moment. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Note: 

Using 2/3 of the biscuit recipe, I can divide this amount of dough to bake 15 smaller biscuits. The smaller biscuits were baked at 160°C fan forced for 13 min. I have made my butter cream and jam using half amount of the recipe and the amount made were more than enough to sandwich 7 of my melting moments.

The gelatin leaf was pre-soaked in water just before use. Excess water was squeezed out from the pre-soaked gelatin before adding to the jam mixture.

Happy Baking
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