Unsalted butter 300 g
Icing sugar 100 g
Salt 7 g
Egg yolks 60 g
Fresh Thai basil leaves 10 g
Cheng Chi fried shallots 57 g
Cake flour 480 g
Method:
1. Beat the unsalted butter with the sifted icing sugar and salt until combined and slightly aerated.
2. Add the egg yolks and beat in.
3. Mix in the chopped Thai basil leaves.
4. Add the sifted flour and cut it in with a spatula so the dough does not develop gluten — stop as soon as it looks evenly crumbly.
5. Put the fried shallots in a plastic bag and chop them fine, then work them into the dough.
6. Using a plastic bag and a scraper, shape into a roughly square block and freeze until firm.
7. Take it out of the freezer and cut with a sharp knife into slices about 0.7 cm thick.
8. Put the slices straight onto a baking tray. Bake at 170/150°C for about 22–24 minutes for slightly thicker biscuits, until the surface is golden.
With this much fat in them, they come out beautifully short and crumbly.