A Yo-Yo Melting Moment Moment.

I love eating Melting Moments. It is the combination of oodles of butter, icing sugar and cornflour in the biscuit dough that creates a light, mouth dissolving treat, hence the name. They are my comfort food when I’m out for a flat white and I’m confronted with a counter full of cakes that frighten me with their lack of interest. With most of my baking focus being on cakes, I am ashamed to say that I had never attempted to make these iconic New Zealand biscuits. Also they are only part of my recent culinary history as I grew up in England. I turned to a Kiwi baker, Alexa Johnston, author of “Ladies, a Plate,” for a recipe. In her sequel “A Second Helping – More from Ladies, a Plate” I found what I was looking for. Alexa’s books are full of iconic New Zealand baking recipes; she has done all the legwork for me. Thumbing through the book you can see the hours of research with recipes predominately from New Zealand cookbooks that go as far back as the 20s, and recipes gleaned by and gifted to Alexa on the way.
To begin with, we get a little social history on my beloved Melting Moment and I learn that by simply switching the cornflour for custard powder it becomes a Yo-Yo! I got sidetracked and decided that because I love custard my Melting Moments should in fact be Yo-Yos!
The recipe was easy to use and I was thrilled with my biscuits except for the filling, which ended up a little runny. When I sandwiched 2 biscuits together as directed, the tops kept sliding off and the filling slightly dribbled out of the sides, not giving that perfect finish I desired. Funnily enough my baker’s instinct told me it was too runny but I wanted to be a good girl and follow the recipe exactly. This is a great discipline for me! I tried the filling recipe twice and concluded my tablespoon aint’ as big as Mrs Merrie’s of Pahiatua, the original contributor of this recipe in 1946. It needed more icing sugar. That’s the thing with old recipes, a tablespoon probably was some huge tarnished nickel plated spoon used to serve the veggies on a Sunday - not like our accurate measuring spoons of today. Or perhaps she has a very different idea of a “heaped” tablespoon, one requiring nerves of steel with icing sugar balanced precariously to such a dramatic height that you daren’t breathe.
I had fun in my kitchen this morning. Although I only ended up with 8½ finished biscuits when the intended amount was about 18 - (I instinctively made them the size they are in NZ cafés) - and my filling was a little soft, I really enjoyed using “A Second Helping.” It is a gorgeous book with a no-nonsense but loving approach. All the photographs are expertly taken by Alexa and as I am a fan of vintage kitchenware and paraphernalia this book is heaven; I not only drool over the baking but also all the pretty linen, plates and biscuit tins used as props. Well talking of second helpings, my daughter is on her second Yo-Yo .... I’d best get a cup of tea and enjoy one for myself before they are all gone!

http://www.ladiesaplate.co.nz/