The Cake Lady shows us how to make proper dunking biscuits for those cold winter days
Welcome to a new year and a new series of recipes - all designed to taste absolutely delicious while still being extremely easy to make. Featuring biscuits, scones and small cakes, the recipes are all really quick to make and bake - indeed, you’ll find that you can be sitting down to enjoy the results of your efforts well within an hour of first going into the kitchen.
I often find myself making these recipes on the spur of the moment - they’re perfect for providing a bit of home-baked cheer on a wet Sunday afternoon. They’re also great for rustling up when some unexpected sunshine makes afternoon tea in the garden a possibility.
This year’s recipes all need a good solid baking sheet - so now’s the time to take advantage of the sales to buy a really good quality one - or even better, two.
I’ve kicked off the series with these lovely old-fashioned ginger biscuits. The combination of both ground and stem ginger really brightens up even the dullest January day - and what could be nicer with a mug of tea or coffee? I also like to serve them with mango or papaya that has been sprinkled with lime juice, as the biscuits provide a wonderful contrast in texture and flavour. Just add a dollop of crème fraîche for the perfect winter pudding.
One of the attractions of these ginger biscuits is the lovely crevices that appear on the surface as they bake. If you have a fan setting on your oven - and two baking sheets - you can bake all the biscuits at the same time and they will all crackle beautifully. However, if you’re using a conventional oven, only bake one sheet of biscuits at a time as, for some reason, the biscuits baked on the lower shelf just won’t crackle in the same way.
You will need:
Ingredients
75g unsalted butter
50g golden syrup
250g self-raising white flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125g caster sugar
1 medium egg, beaten
1 piece stem ginger in syrup, drained and finely chopped
Equipment:
1 baking sheet
Butter for greasing
Makes 18 biscuits
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark three/fan 160°C.
2 Place the butter and golden syrup into a small saucepan and gently melt over a low heat. Pour into the mixing bowl to cool.
3 Lightly grease the baking sheet with butter.
4 Sift the flour, ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda together into the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.
5 Divide the dough in half, putting one portion aside. Using your hands, roll the remaining dough into nine walnut-sized balls. Place on the baking sheet, spacing them well apart to allow for them to spread during baking.
6 Bake towards the top of the oven for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Leave on the sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7 When the biscuits are completely cool, store in an airtight container.
The remaining dough can be stored in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for up to a month. Or you can quickly wash and re-grease the sheet and bake the other half of the mixture while the oven is still hot!
Carol Kearns is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. See more of her work or commission her at www.carolkearns.co.uk
