Monte Carlo is more than a place

Another post of something that links to my childhood food memories. It's a similar story to my Kingston Biscuits post, the Arnott's Monte Carlos were always popular among my family. I was also excited to see them in my lunch box at school, especially if they got a little soft, as the jam in the centre would be a tacky and I could chew it for longer. I also loved opening the two biscuits up and trying to get equal cream on both sides to eat individually.

But why make Monte Carlo biscuits now, you ask. Well, all week my morning coffee shop have had the nicest looking biscuits on display. They were thick and crumbly with either a buttercream or cream cheese centre. The girl who works there said they were going to have Monte Carlos tomorrow and that set my brain on the path of how I would make Monte Carlos. So, last night with no "treats" for my sons lunchbox in the cupboard, I decided to make some Monte Carlos. Enjoy.

Cathy's Monte Carlos 
Makes 8 biscuits
250g butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup pure icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup custard powder
Raspberry jam
250g cream cheese
50g butter, at room temperature
30ml thickened cream
100g icing sugar

Line 2 baking trays with non-stick paper and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. In a bowl, beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the flour and custard powder and beat until combined. Scoop batter into a piping bag and pipe circles onto the baking paper (if you don't want the swirly look, you can make little balls using your hands and lightly press them down with the back of a fork). Pop into the oven to bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool before adding the filling.

When biscuits have cooled, match them by size and sit the pairs next to each other ready for the filling. In a clean bowl, beat the cream cheese, cream, butter and icing sugar until smooth. Using a spoon, spread a layer of raspberry jam over the flat side of the bottom biscuit. Using your piping bag again, fill with cream cheese and pipe a layer on top of the jam. Gently place the flat side of the top biscuit on top of the cream cheese and push down to sandwich the two together. Eat immediately or store in the fridge.