Crunch into freshly baked Margate biscuits
Biscuits have come a long way from the humble versions originally developed as long-lasting, easy-to-carry snacks for sailors and voyagers. Our tastebuds are certainly grateful for the development, as are the bakers who spend their days dreaming up new varieties. One lot of cooks who have a wicked way with the oven and a keen sense of imagination are the husband-and-wife team behind new cookbook, Sweet Envy. The dessert wizards have pulled 100 of the best creations from their bakery of the same name in Hobart, to offer up a host of inspired biscuit, cake, pastry and pie recipes. Biscuits are given a creative twist in this recipe for the bakers’ ode to the Kingston, the Margate.
INGREDIENTS
Biscuits
130 g butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup or honey
230 g sugar
120 g desiccated or shredded coconut
120 g rolled oats
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
175 g pastry flour, sifted
pinch of sea salt
creamy vanilla frosting
Ganache
150 g dark chocolate, chopped
150 ml thin pouring cream
TO MAKE
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line two baking trays with baking paper. In a large saucepan, gently melt the butter and golden syrup, then add the sugar, coconut, rolled oats and vanilla.
Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 2 tablespoons of boiling water, then add to the butter mixture. Add the sifted flour and salt, and mix well.
Roll into 24 small balls and place on the baking trays, allowing room for the biscuits to spread and flatten during cooking. Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and cool on the trays.
To make the ganache, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to the boil in a small saucepan and pour over the chocolate. Leave to melt for two minutes, before mixing to a smooth, shiny ganache. Add 150 g of the ganache to the frosting, to make a chocolate frosting.
To assemble the biscuits, pipe a ring of chocolate frosting around the edge of half of the biscuits. Place a spoonful of ganache in the centre and pop a biscuit lid on top.
Recipe and images from Sweet Envy by Alistair Wise and Teena Kearney-Wise. Published by Murdoch Books.
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