Brandy Snaps

Makes 12

Brandy snaps are lacy, crispy, thin biscuits shaped into cylinders so they can be filled with lashings of luxurious brandy flavoured whipped cream. Brandy snaps are delicious and crunchy, they make a great after dinner treat perfect served with coffee. If you leave the cream out they are an ideal way to dress up other desserts, ice cream Sunday, chocolate mousse or next to a slice of cheesecake, wonderful for an elegant dinner party.

Bandy snaps are simple to make, but takes a little bit of practice to get the shape perfect, it is always a good idea to make extra brandy snaps to practice rolling them into a cylinder, the not so perfect ones still taste delicious, ideal to nibble at while preparing dessert.

Ingredients

For the brandy snaps

• 55g Butter
• 55g caster Sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 55g plain flour
• 1 tsp Brandy
• ½ tsp ground Ginger
• ground Cinnamon
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon

For the filling

• 150ml whipping Cream
• 2 tsp Brandy

Method

For the brandy snaps

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and oil the handle of a wooden spoon.
2. Melt together the butter, sugar and golden syrup and leave to cool a little. Stir in the flour, brandy and spices; grate in the lemon zest.
3. Drop small spoonfuls of the mixture onto a baking tray, spaced well apart, as they will spread in the oven. It is best to cook the snaps in two batches so you'll have time to shape them while they are still pliable.
4. Bake for 6-8 minutes. They're ready when the mixture has spread out to a lacy, golden discs. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a minute before shaping.
5. Use the oiled wooden spoon handle to shape the brandy snaps into cylinders and leave on a rack to cool. If they become too brittle, return to the oven for a minute to soften. Repeat with the remaining mixture. 

For the filling

1. Whisk the cream and brandy to soft billowing peaks. Spoon into a sandwich bag and snip off one corner to make a piping bag. Pipe the cream into the brandy snaps just before serving.