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Shrewsbury Biscuits (Shrewsbury Cakes) Recipe
Homemade Shrewsbury biscuits! A British classic that tastes absolutely amazing and is also incredibly easy to make. Serve with a cup of tea for a moment of bliss!
Who can resist a delectable Shrewsbury biscuit? Especially when they’re freshly baked and still slightly warm from the oven… I certainly can’t!
Shrewsbury biscuits are so easy to make, it’s also a great recipe for budding bakers or to make with kids. It’s buttery, fruity, has the perfect balance of lemon and the smell is INSANE.
Making these biscuits is a great homage to the past, they date back to the 1600s in Shrewsbury (hence the name) and are still being made today.
Why You’ll Like This Recipe
- It’s really easy to make!
- You can create unique shapes and designs with the dough
- There’s no need to chill the dough (it holds its shape well)
- You can make traditional fruit Shrewsbury biscuits by adding dried currants or you can leave them out.
- It’s ready in just 20 minutes (so quick and simple)
Watch How To Make It
Where Did Shrewsbury Biscuits Come From?
Shrewsbury biscuits originated in a town called Shrewsbury in Shropshire, it’s known for its delicate and slightly crumbly texture. It’s slightly sweet and flavoured with currants and lemon zest.
Not only are they called Shrewsbury biscuits, but you might know them as Shrewsbury cakes too. Whatever name you call it, these biscuits taste so damn good!
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the few ingredients needed:
- Flour: This recipe uses plain flour to get the perfect crisp Shrewsbury biscuit texture. Avoid using self-raising flour.
- Butter: I like to use salted butter, but you can also use unsalted butter and add a quarter teaspoon of salt to help bring out the flavour.
- Sugar: Use caster sugar.
- Egg Yolk: Use eggs at room temperature for best results.
- Lemon: The zest of a lemon is added to the biscuit dough. If you don’t have lemon zest, you can use half a teaspoon of lemon extract instead.
- Currants (Optional): Use can currants, sultanas or raisins. If you don’t want to make fruit Shrewsbury biscuits, then you can miss this ingredient out.
How To Make Shrewsbury Biscuits
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to make fruit Shrewsbury biscuits. Full recipe instructions are on the recipe card:
Step One:
Preheat your oven to 200°C (gas mark 6, 180°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add an egg yolk and mix until combined.
Step Two:
Add the flour, currants and grated lemon zest into the bowl and mix together until evenly combined. Use your hands to help bring the dough together.
Step Three:
Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough until it forms into a ball. Then, roll out the dough until it reaches a 5mm (1/4 inch) thickness.
Step Four:
Use a fluted (or round) 6cm cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits and place it onto your baking tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat this step until you have used up all the dough, I normally get around 24 biscuits.
Step Five:
Bake the Shrewsbury biscuits in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until it starts to brown. Leave the biscuits to cool down before transferring to a plate or cooling rack.
How To Serve
Below are a few possible desserts or hot drinks that you can serve these biscuits with:
How To Store Shrewsbury Biscuits
To store, place leftover biscuits in an airtight container and store at room temperature for 5 to 7 days. Make sure they’re stored well otherwise they’ll start to soften overtime.
You can also freeze leftovers! Wrap the biscuits in cling film or place it in a sandwich bag before putting it into the freezer. Defrost the biscuits before eating them.
Recipe Variations
Swap Lemons: You can use oranges or limes instead of lemons, both fruits work well with this recipe.
Add Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice are great additions and will add a Christmas touch to these treats. Add 1/2 teaspoon of your spice of choice.
Chocolate: Add chocolate chips for a modern twist and for even more flavour. You could also swap the currants for chocolate chips instead. Perhaps white chocolate chips will go better with the lemon base flavour.
Create A Design: Like traditional Shrewsbury cakes, you can make designs using a clean comb and a toothpick.
My Top Tips
Don’t throw the zested lemon away! You can use it to make homemade lemon flapjacks or these lemon shortbread biscuits. Additionally, you could always freeze the lemon to use later on.
With the leftover egg white, you can make mini meringue nests (half the ingredients to use egg whites from just one egg) or you can make this delicious pavlova.
Instead of mixing the ingredients by hand, you can use an electric whisk (like in my video). It speeds up the time taken to cream the butter and sugar alongside mixing in the egg yolk and other ingredients.
If the biscuits get stuck to the baking paper or your work surface, use a palette knife to gently remove it.
More Biscuit Recipes
- Oat Biscuits
- Ginger Biscuits
- Empire Biscuits
- Gypsy Creams
- Coffee Kisses
- Fork Biscuits
- All Butter Shortbread Biscuits
- Custard Creams
Shrewsbury Biscuits
Ingredients
- 200 g Plain Flour
- 100 g Butter
- 50 g Currants
- 75 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 Lemon Zest
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (gas mark 6, 180°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.100 g Butter, 75 g Caster Sugar
- Add an egg yolk and mix until combined.1 Egg Yolk
- Add the flour, currants and grated lemon zest into the bowl and mix together until evenly combined. Use your hands to help bring the dough together.200 g Plain Flour, 50 g Currants, 1 Lemon Zest
- Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough until it forms into a ball. Then, roll out the dough until it reaches a 5mm (1/4 inch) thickness.
- Use a fluted (or round) 6cm cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits and place it onto your baking tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat this step until you have used up all the dough.
- Bake the Shrewsbury biscuits in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until it starts to brown. Leave the biscuits to cool down before transferring to a plate or cooling rack.
Video
Nutrition
Music in video from Uppbeat, License code: 08VBCZFHCZBZDBBY
Kirsty
I made these in a last minute decision to have a nice bikkie to have with my cuppa, they were no fuss, quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious! The biscuit itself reminds me of a rich shortbread type of texture, but softer and lighter. I used the same amount of ingredients (measured in grams) as the recipe, I had a very large lemon so only used half of what I had grated (about 6g or 1 and a half teaspoons), but after cooking and trying the biscuits I could have used the whole amount, you won’t go wrong either way. I also used 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoons of cinnamon. I could have doubled these amounts if i felt like a more spiced biscuit, but it was well balanced with those measurements. I am Coeliac so I also used ‘White Wings’ gluten free plain flour to make these gluten free, i dont think this affected the end result much at all. A very forgiving recipe and can be easily made to your own taste or ideas for ingredients. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, I will make these regularly now!
Michelle
Hi Kirsty, thanks for commenting!! I’m glad you liked the recipe so much 🙂
Wendy Cox
There is a little problem with the temperature conversion. 200 Degrees C is not 180 degrees F. Its is the other way
180 degrees C is 350 degrees F.
I cooked then at about 190 degrees C. My oven is a bit slow.
Michelle
Hi Wendy, 200 degrees C is the equivalent to 180 degrees C Fan Oven, in the UK. But yes, 180 degrees C is 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Hope you liked it!