Brandy snaps

Brandy snaps are so easy to make that once you have made them then you will wonder why you have spent good money buying them.

To make brandy snaps you will need.

55g/2oz butter

55g/2oz Demerara sugar

55g/2oz golden syrup

50g/1¾oz plain flour

½tsp ground ginger

½tsp brandy

Now you need a good thick bottomed sauce pan . Now as a tip measure out the butter sugar and put them in the pan  but weigh out the golden syrup straight in to the pan if you can. It is best to do it this way or you end up with golden syrup all over your scale and not in the recipe.

Now on a gentle heat melt the butter and let the sugar dissolve. Take your time and do this slowly you do not want things to boil and crystallise. Stir the mix every now and then and when you cannot feel any of the sugar on the bottom of the pan then you are about ready to move on to the next stage.  

Take the pan of the heat and set to one side. Now sift the flour and the ginger through a sieve in to the hot mix then working quickly and thoroughly mix in the flour into the hot fat and sugar. This is the most difficult part of the operation and I sometimes to this a bit at a time all depending so you do not get any lumps.   Then add the lemon juice and brandy and keep mixing until you have a smooth stiff batter. Now that is your mix made cover it and let it stay in a warm place until you are ready to use it.

You will need a big try that you can make a circle of the batter mix. It will spread when cooking so leave plenty of space.  Also you will need it to be non-stick if possible; I use non-stick baking sheets at home

Preheat your oven to 180c/350f and make a disk or two of the batter mix and lay it on a try. Now bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. You will know when it is ready it will have spread but have that bark lace look to it that brandy snaps do. Then it is all the same colour, a nice dark brown not black, take it out of the oven.

Now if you have never done this bit before it is a little tricky at first. You need to take the brandy snap at the right time of the try and set it over a cup to from the basket.  To hot and it will all break up and split. To cold and it will just be too stiff.  My recommendation is wait until you can move it with a pallet knife and it stays in altogether.  Then try and from the basket. If it has gone to cold pop it back in the oven and warms it up, the mix is very forgiving at this stage and will soften so you can try again. Move it to hot or over cook it and it will let you know.  

When I said it is easy it is if you have done it before and it in not, until you get used to it. Then it is easy , but like all cooking , toast was difficult once and that is just burning bread.