New Zealand does the whole posh lodge thing brilliantly â 5 stars in wilderness areas of outstanding awesomeness. Wharakauhau, 90 minutes (by car or 10 minutes by chopper) just outside of Wellington, is one of those places. With tariffs of over NZD 2000 per couple, though, itâs (as most of them are) outside the affordability range of most of us. Rock stars and royalty stay there â itâs the place that Prince William and Kate were whisked off to during their tour in 2014.
Anyways, Wharakauhau is set on one of New Zealandâs oldest working sheep stations with the original homestead dating back to 1851. Back in the day, Mrs Eglington, the farmerâs wife, used to make shortbread for the shepherds and farmhands as a treat for their afternoon smoko (or break). These days the shortbread is made for lodge guests and left in their rooms daily and is a favourite of said rockstars and royalty.
How did I get hold of the recipe? Quite simply because it was published in Stuff.
Super easy to whip up, this shortbread is buttery and melts away on the tongue as all good shortbreads do. The only note Iâd make is not to overwork the dough, but then thatâs a rule for all shortbread.
So, without further ado, hereâs the shortbread Wills and Kate (probably) ate.
Wharakauhauâs Shortbread
What you need âŠ
250g cold unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
100g cornflour
1 tsp vanilla essence
250g plain flour
What you do with it âŠ
Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla, sift in flour and cornflour. Bring together by hand to a smooth dough.
Wrap in cling-film and let it chill out in the fridge for at least an hour.
Roll out to 1cm thick and cut to desired shape. Alternatively, if youâre having one of those days where you canât be faffed with the whole rolling and stamping out shapes thing, chill it in a log shape and simply slice off rounds.
Bake 170C/150C (fan) for 20-25 minutes (best when not browned or only slightly coloured).
Dust with caster sugar while hot.