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| Recipe Archive > Cakes & Biscuits > |
Demerara Sugar Baskets
(Makes approximately 10 baskets)
I never tire of these delicate lacy tuiles, curved biscuits named after the French word for tiles. Made with the golden grains of Whitworths demerara, melted together with butter and crushed almonds. They have a very light, crisp and crunchy texture unlike many sugar baskets that I have tried before which always seem so tough and brittle as you bite into them. Do try them as irresistible containers for ice cream, sorbet, berries with sweetened whipped vanilla cream and of course, Drunken Prune Ice cream.
See Tip below
Equipment & Ingredients
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1 baking sheet covered with non-stick baking paper |
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115g / 4oz Whitworths demerara sugar |
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85g / 3oz unsalted butter |
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55g / 2oz flaked almonds, finely chopped |
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Whitworths icing sugar, sifted to finish |
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Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4. Slowly melt the sugar and butter together in a small saucepan, stirring continuously, for 2 - 3 minutes. The mixture must not boil. Add the almonds and stir. Remove the pan from the heat and place two portions (allowing approximately 1 dssp of mixture per portion) in 2-inch rounds (set well apart) on the non-stick baking paper and bake for 4 minutes.
Remove the biscuits from the oven and leave to cool for 1½ - 2 minutes until you can lift them with a palette knife, or peel them gently away from the paper. Quickly drape the warm biscuits over a rolling pin, as they will harden in a matter of seconds. Cook the other biscuits in the same way. They stay crisp for up to 8 hours at normal room temperature, but left any longer you will need to store them in an air-tight container, large enough to hold the biscuits in one layer.
Tip
For best results do not let the mixture boil.
Tip
Sift a fine dusting of Whitworths icing sugar to the edges of the baskets just before serving, to emphasise their delicate lacy texture and sweet flavour.
Tip
Add a delicious toffee-flavoured crunch. Ripple lightly crushed pieces of the crisp biscuit through vanilla ice cream by adding them in the last few minutes of churning, or add them to a quality shop-bought ice cream, which can be lightly softened at room temperature before adding the crunch, then refrozen.
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