- 750g/1lb 10oz plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
- 3 tsp flaked sea salt
- 3 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 2 x 80g/3oz tube sun-dried tomato purée
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 medium free-range egg, beaten (for egg wash)
- 300g/10½oz self-raising flour
- 240g/9oz soft slightly salted butter
- 220g/8oz Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tsp ground paprika
- 300g/10½oz full-fat cream cheese
- freshly ground black pepper
- bunch fresh chives, mostly snipped, reserving a few for the box lid
- bunch fresh parsley
- 1 bottle edible glue
- For the biscuit box, put the flour, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until ‘rubbed’ in.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs with the tomato purée and oregano. Turn the processor onto a slow speed and pour in the egg mixture until combined to a dough.
- Turn the mixture out and knead to bring together. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
- For the Parmesan crisp ‘sandwiches’, blend the flour, butter and cheese together in a food processor until it forms a soft ball. Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- Roll out the Parmesan mixture to 3mm thick and cut out 72 discs using a 4cm/1½in cutter.
- Line enough trays to fit all the biscuits with baking parchment. Place the discs on the lined trays, brush 36 of the discs with paprika and bake for 8 minutes, or until just turning light golden-brown.
- Remove from the oven. Leave for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Leave the oven at the same temperature.
- For the filling, beat the cream cheese with the pepper and chives in a bowl. Put the filling into a piping bag fitted with a rosette nozzle. Pipe the cream cheese onto the biscuits not dusted with paprika and top with a paprika-dusted biscuit.
- To construct the biscuit box, using the template, cut out four sides and two 20cm/8in squares (for the base and lid). Place on a lined baking tray. Gently crimp all the edges of the shapes and brush with beaten egg.
- On the lid of the box, cut a small circle in the centre before baking (about 4cm/1½in wide). Bake all the box pieces for 20-30 minutes, or until golden-brown and shiny. If the biscuit shapes start to puff up, put on a sheet of parchment paper in top, followed by another baking tray to weigh down the biscuits.
- Remove the biscuits and cool slightly before putting on a wire rack to cool completely. Trim the slots using a sharp knife while the biscuits are still warm.
- Fit the box parts together using the edible glue and stand the box on a base or serving plate.
- Fill the box with the cheese sandwich biscuits – there should be 4 rows of 9 biscuits. Place the lid on the top and put a bunch of parsley and chives in the hole on the lid.