100g (3½oz) butter, softened, plus extra to grease
50g (2oz) icing sugar, sifted
1 medium egg yolks
175g (6oz) plain flour, sifted
25g (1oz) hazelnuts, finely ground
Directions
Step 1
First, make the shortbread: preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC) mark 4. Cream butter and icing sugar until soft and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk. Stir in flour and nuts with a fork and bring together to form a dough. Shape into a rough disc; wrap in clingfilm; chill for 10-15min.
Step 2
Roll out the dough to a 3mm (1/8in) thickness on greaseproof paper. Stamp out 20-25 rounds with a 5cm (2in) cutter. Put on a greased baking sheet. Chill for 30min. Bake for 12-15min until light golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Step 3
Put the damsons into a pan with 2tbsp sugar and 2tbsp water. Cook gently for 10min until the fruit softens. Push the pulp and juice through a sieve. Discard the skins and stones. Add sloe gin if using. Set aside.
Step 4
Using a knife, slit open vanilla pod and scrape seeds into a pan. Pour in milk and add pod. Bring to just below the boil. Leave to infuse for 20min.
Step 5
In a bowl, mix together the egg yolks, remaining sugar and cornflour to form a paste. Remove vanilla pod from milk and gradually add milk to the paste, stirring to blend. Rinse pan. Return mixture to pan and put over a low to medium heat. Cook for 2-3min, stirring, until the custard thickens. Strain into a bowl, cover with clingfilm, then set aside until cold.
Step 6
Reserve 6tbsp damson purée. Fold remaining purée and cream into custard. Divide among six 250ml (9fl oz) cups or wine glasses. Garnish with a swirl of purée. Serve with shortbreads.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
