I have been meaning to make these bad boys for a while now since they made their appearance on GBBO as one of the technical tasks. I didn’t bother making my own jam, can’t be bothered with that and I have too many jams to use up at home.
Whilst making the biscuit dough was pretty straight forward (please bear in mind to avoid loss of arms by using an electric mixer!). I did find pipping these little monsters was so so difficult. I mean really difficult, I remember everyone struggled on the program but I didn’t realise it was that hard. I managed to some how pull through and pipe all the biscuits, in the end I wouldn’t say my whirls would get a very good score, being the very big critic of my own food I would say in Paul and Mary’s words…’although the biscuits taste nice, I notice there isn’t much definition in your whirls’. So yeh they do taste nice and are ‘short’ but definition is so not there!
I’m in two minds if I would make these again, my parents loved them but it’s just the piping but I just don’t want to feel like I’ve been defeated over some whirls…maybe I should make them again (just for my parents).
- 250g - very soft unsalted butter
- 50g - icing sugar
- 225g/ - plain flour
- 25g - cornflour
- 100g - unsalted butter, softened
- 200g - icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 1/2 tsp - vanilla extract
- 1. Line 3 baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment. Using a 5cm/2in round cutter as a guide, draw 8 circles on each sheet of paper, spaced well apart. Turn the paper over so the pencil marks are underneath.
- 2. In a stand mixer add the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Sift in the flour and cornflour and beat well, until thoroughly mixed.
- 3. Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a medium star nozzle. Pipe 24 swirled rounds (not rosettes), inside the circles on the baking sheets.
- 4. Leave the trays in the fridge for 30mins-1hr*
- 5. Preheat the oven to 190°C and bake in the centre of the oven for 13—15 minutes, until a pale golden-brown. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and harden.
- 1. add the butter into a bowl and sift the icing sugar on top. Add the vanilla extract and beat with until very light and smooth. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.
- 2. Spoon a little jam onto the flat side of 12 of the biscuits and place jam-side up on a cooling rack. Pipe the buttercream over the jam and sandwich with the remaining biscuits. Dust with icing sugar to finish.
- *I did this but it's not in the recipe.
