Tantallon Cakes
Tantallon Cakes are a traditional Scottish biscuit from East Lothian, named after the famous Tantallon Castle near North Berwick. These simple lemon-flavoured biscuits have a buttery, crumbly texture similar to shortbread and are perfect with a cup of tea.
PRINT RECIPE
Servings: 20 biscuits
INGREDIENTS
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 150 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 1 Free-range Egg (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
- 200 g Plain Flour
- 50 g Cornflour
- ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
EQUIPMENT
- Fluted Round Cutter (6cm (2½-inches) is ideal)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 180°c (160°c for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 4 or 350°F) and line a couple of baking sheets with greaseproof paper. Set aside.
- Cream together the margarine/butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg & lemon zest, and mix until well combined.
- Sift the flour, cornflour and bicarbonate of soda and mix to form a dough - you may need to use your hands. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop, and gently knead until smooth.
- Roll your dough to around 5mm thick and cut with a fluted-edge cookie cutter. Transfer each biscuit to your pre-lined baking trays and prick the tops with a fork.
- Bake in your pre-heated oven for around 12-15 minutes until the edges of the biscuits are golden.
- Remove from the oven and, while still warm, sprinkle a little excess caster sugar over each biscuit. Leave to cool on the baking sheets until cool enough to touch, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Egg Size:
When it comes to eggs, I always buy mixed-weight free-range eggs. Generally speaking, egg size doesn’t make a huge difference in most baking, unless you are using sizes that lean towards the extremes. If you’re unsure which eggs to use, I recommend medium eggs in the UK, which are roughly equivalent to large eggs in the US. That’s what this recipe has been tested with.Substitutions:
- Lemon Flavour: Fresh lemon zest will give the best flavour, but you can use lemon extract as a substitute. ½ to 1 teaspoon of lemon extract is ideal, depending on how much lemon flavour you'd like.
- Cornflour (Corn Starch): If you don’t have any cornflour (corn starch), just replace it with another 50g of plain flour (all-purpose flour). The cornflour gives your biscuits a snappier texture, but it isn't essential.
- Butter or Margarine: Both butter and block margarine work well in this recipe. Just be sure you use a block margarine and not a spreadable one.
Storage:
Store Tantallon Cakes in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep well for around 4-5 days, although the texture may change slightly as time passes.Tried this recipe?
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