Brandy Snap Ingredients:
- 55g butter
- 55g demanara sugar
- 55g golden syrup (put 10sec in microwave once ready to use it so it is liquid)
- 50g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp lemon (stops crystalizing the sugar)
- optional: Silpat matt (Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat)
Process:
- Pre-heat oven at 180C.
- In sauce pan, put butter, sugar and syrup. Heat gently at low heat, until everything is disolved. Don’t boil it!!! Stir with a spoon, until you dont feel the grains of sugar. If should look like “caramel”. It will take 10-15 minutes. Dont rush it.
- Let the sugar mix to cool down for 1-2 minutes, add the flour and ginger. Mix well but just a bit. You dont want to split the mix.
- Add the lemon, mix well but like above.
- In the baking try with non-sticking paper or similar, drop 4 small balls of “caramel”. Around 1/2 tsp. It looks small but then in the oven they will spread out a lot. They need to become flat, and “toasted”. A bit less than 10 minutes.
- When the circules have a nice brown color, remove the try from the oven.
- Wait 30 sec or so. Then with a circle cookie cutter, cut a circumference from each melted caramel. If it is too soft, wait for a bit, then remove the sides around the cutter with the handle of a fork or spoon. The “cookie” should be pliable.
- Use the handle of the whisk, with a bit of oil, and put the “cookie” to form a “canoli”. Try to connect the sides. Wait until the “cookie” is a bit hard and remove from the handle. Let it rest in a cooling rack
- Very likely from the 4 caramel melts, one or two will be hard and you will not be able to cut it or put the cookie in the handle without breaking it. If you think they are going to break, put them back in the oven for 1 minute and will be come soft again. So start the process again, use cutter, help with fork to remove excess sides, then handle to form a “canoli”.
- Once you have all “canoli” resting, make the filling below:
Cream Ingredients:
- 200ml double cream
- 1 tsp icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
Cream process:
- Whisk the cream, sugar and vanilla until it starts to become solid. Don’t go to stiff peaks!!! This is not merengue. If you do, once you try to pipe it, the cream will spilt in something similar to butter and water.
- Use a cross end for the pipe. As usual, twist the bag with the index finger so it stays, the put the cream in the bag, twist the bag until all cream is together and then pipe one hand in the bottom and the other squeezing.
- Fill each canoli a bit from each side.
- Optional, dip each side in pistachio
I tried one after cooling down and I felt it was too sweet. But maybe because I ate a bit of the “cookie” leftover that are nearly purely sugar.
The next day, I tried another and felt much better. The cream is not sweet at all so it balance the “biscuit”.