Grapefruit is often the forgotten citrus and I rarely find any desserts with this flavor but I have always found it really refreshing. The grapefruit flavor is rather intense in this recipe so you would really have to like grapefruit to just eat the shortbread cookies by itself. The addition of the mango curd really nicely mellows out the grapefruit while the grapefruit really lifts up the mango. The combination of the two is the perfect harmony.
Grapefruit Shortbread
227 g Unsalted Butter (softened)
120 g Sugar
3 g Salt
4 g Vanilla Extract
28 g Heavy Cream
50 g Reduced Grapefruit Juice
This is about the juice of 2 grapefruits reduced down.
Reduce the juice along with the peels of the grapefruit. When peeling, be careful not to cut off any of the white part.
454 g AP Flour
Cream the butter and sugar together. Whisk until the butter is super light and fluffy.
Add in the salt, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and reduced grapefruit juice.
Add in the flour and mix together.
The dough can either be put through a cookie stamp or can be rolled out into a thin sheet and cut into shapes.
Chill the shaped/cut dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat the oven to 360°F.
Bake for 14 - 15 minutes. Leave the cookies on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a baking rack.
Shortbread cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 - 4 days.
Mango Curd
295 g Mango Purée
Pushed through a sieve to remove any solid bits and to make it super smooth.
50 g Sugar
60 g Honey
20 g Lime Juice
2 Eggs + 3 Egg Yolks
115 g Unsalted Butter (cold and cubed)
Whisk the mango purée, sugar, honey, lime juice, eggs, and egg yolks together in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk constantly to not end up with scrambled eggs. Gently cook until the mixture thickens a lot and it resembles pudding in consistency.
Take the pan off the heat and slowly add in the butter while still whisking. Add in 3 - 4 cubes at a time and fully incorporate the butter before adding more.
The mango curd can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 weeks or in the freezer for up to 12 months.