Brandy Snaps - Great British Baking Show Series

Have you ever heard of brandy snaps? Well, I hadn’t either, until I watched Biscuit Week of Season 9, Episode 2 of Great British Baking Show (GBBS), which aired October 1^st, 2021.

What is the Great British Baking Show?

Who watches? And if you watch it, do you love it? And if you don’t love it, you can’t sit with us. Just kidding!

If you are not familiar with the show, here is a quick synopsis: it is basically this amazing British show where 12 amateur bakers are gathered in the baking “tent” to compete against each other in a series of rounds, attempting to impress the judges. One of the bakers is named “Star Baker” each week, and another baker gets sent home. It airs on Netflix, so if you have a subscription, I highly suggest giving it a watch!

Season 9, Episode 2: Biscuit Week

First, we need to address what is meant by “biscuits” so I don’t have an angry group of followers with pitchforks at my doorstep. When the show says “biscuits,” they are not referring to what Americans consider a biscuit. It is not bread – it is a cookie. If I am being honest, I love it. It makes me feel so fancy when I refer to a cookie as a biscuit. 

Let’s breakdown the challenges of the Biscuit Week episode:

• Signature Challange: Brandy Snaps
• Technical Challenge: Jammy Cookies
• Showstopper Challenge: Biscuit Tower

I decided to go with the brandy snaps, because they seemed challenging. But let’s be real, everything on GBBS is challenging.

What even is a brandy snap?

What is a brandy snap, you may ask? Well.. a brandy snap is a very thin, laced-cookie that is either rolled into a tube shape (like a cannoli) or shaped into a basket of some sort. It is normally filled with a delicious brandy-flavored whipped cream. It is a big hit around the holidays in England. The lacey look of the cookies is due to the mixture bubbling up in the oven – these bubbles pop forming those repeating circles and that laced texture. This, along with the snap of the cookie when you bite it, are two necessary requirements of the brandy snap.

I went back and forth on whether or not I should make the classic brandy snap, or put a little twist on mine and I ultimately decided to go with a twist. I mean, it’s Fall for crying out loud, so I needed to make something that would go with the season. My brandy snaps: cinnamon brandy snaps with chocolate whipped cream filling and a chocolate chai sugar coating. I mean, I’m drooling. 

What are the typical ingredients in a brandy snap?

Well for starters, there’s brandy. And then there’s your normal ingredients: flour, ground ginger, sugar, butter, and… golden syrup?

Let me tell you, this golden syrup threw me for a loop. I had never heard of it nor seen it in stores. Per my best friend, Google, Golden syrup is a thick amber-colored form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It’s made in England, and I looked in multiple grocery stores and could not find it anywhere. I went to my trusty other best friend, Amazon, and I FOUND it, with free delivery the next day. Thank you, Amazon. Here is the exact one I ordered.

However, if you’re normal and NOT like me, you’re not going to go on the internet and buy a giant bottle of golden syrup when you only know one recipe that uses it. Which is why I also have a recipe for these with light corn syrup.

Failed Attempts

I read a lot about what replacements I could use for golden syrup. 

First, I tried molasses. Then I realized I hate molasses. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay in smaller quantities (like in oatmeal raisin cookies, for example!). But my recipe calls for ½ cup of syrup so it was just too molasses-y. 

Then, I tried maple syrup, and that just straight up didn’t work. The biscuits did not spread, nor did they bubble up. 

Then, I switched to light corn syrup, which was the best attempt (not using golden syrup). They were lightly golden and had a great lace. My only issue was that it was a little too thin. However, it still held up when the filling was placed in, but when comparing it to the ones we saw on GBBS, it was definitely more delicate. I think this is because the viscosity of the syrups. So, if you can’t find golden syrup and don’t want to order it on Amazon, I definitely suggest using light corn syrup as a replacement.

Finally, I got my golden syrup, and it absolutely delicious. It has such an impact on the flavor and the thickness of the biscuits were just right.

Recipe Ingredients

Biscuit

• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• Golden syrup/light corn syrup
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• All-purpose flour
• Brandy

Coating

• Semi-sweet chocolate
• Chai sugar (granulated sugar + chai spice)

Filling

• Heavy whipping cream
• Powdered sugar
• Cocoa powder

Method

Making the dough

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

On the stove over low-medium heat, combine your butter, brown sugar, golden syrup/light corn syrup, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and ground nutmeg until it is completely melted. Gently stir the entire time and do not let the mixture come to a boil. 

Once melted, remove from the heat and add the all-purpose flour and brandy. Fold together until mixed in - there may be a few lumps of flour remaining, so take a whisk to it a couple of times to get those out 

Take a heaping tablespoon of dough and dollop the dough onto the baking sheet with about 4 inches in between each biscuit because they will spread, a lot.

Baking

Bake in the oven for 13-14 minutes. Timing can be tricky. If you pull them out of the oven too soon, they will be chewy and won’t harden. If you pull them out too late, they will be burnt/hard and you won’t be able to shape them. When they are in the oven, they should bubble up. They are almost done when the bubbling begins to slow down and there should be a slight crispness to the edges. 

Pull them out of the oven and let them sit for 1 – 1 ½ minutes. You want them to be cool enough to handle with your hands, but you can’t wait too long otherwise they will harden and you won’t be able to shape them. You also can’t touch them too soon because they won’t set enough and they will break apart. It’s all about timing here! With that said, even if you have a big baking sheet, I suggest doing only a few at a time. This way you have enough time to shape the ones you baked before they harden.

You can either shape them into baskets by using mini bowls or small tart pans. Or, you can form them to look like a cannoli using cannoli tubes or wrapping them around a pencil, the handle of a wooden spoon, etc.

Repeat this process with the rest of the dough. Let the biscuits sit at room temperature or in the fridge while they harden completely.

Coating the shells

While your biscuits are setting, we will coat the edges. First we need to make the chai sugar. If you can’t find chai spice in stores – it is SO easy to make. Combine your cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in a bowl. Take two tablespoons of this chai spice and mix with ½ cup of granulated sugar and boom! You have chai sugar. Place the chai sugar in a wide bowl or on a plate.

Next, we melt our chocolate. Melt your chocolate over the stove or in the microwave in thirty second increments. Place the chocolate in a wide bowl.

Whether you decide to make the biscuits cylindrical or basket shaped, dip the edges in the chocolate and then in your chai sugar. Repeat this process with the remaining biscuits and put them aside for your chocolate to set while you make the filling.

Making the filling

This filling Is *mwah* chefs kiss! It’s a chocolate whipped cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat together the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Begin on low speed so the powdered sugar/cocoa powder doesn’t fly out of the bowl, then slowly increase the speed to medium-high speed until peaks form. About 2 minutes. Don’t whip them for too long or you will make butter (chocolate butter?!).

Once the peaks are formed, pipe or scoop the filling into your baskets/tubes. And that’s it! Go to town on your delicious brandy snaps.

Tried this recipe? Make sure to rate and review and tag @sturbridgebakery on Instagram!