Garibaldi Biscuits

© 2024 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2024 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Garibaldi biscuits (unkindly called 'squashed flies' by children), named to honour Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi, who fought for the unification of Italy in the 19th century, are made by sandwiching the dried fruit with thin shortcrust pastry. Then the dough is sliced into rectangles and baked until light golden. The chocolate glaze is completely optional. You can simply dust some Demerara sugar on top after brushing with egg white. If sultanas and currants aren’t to your taste, use your favourite dried fruit – just make sure that you cut it up to the size of a currant so it bonds suitably to the biscuit dough.

 

Dough	Decoration
150 g Sultanas, roughly chopped 50 g Currants 150 ml Orange juice (or water) 125 g Plain flour 3/4 tsp Baking powder Pinch of salt 25 g Vanilla sugar (or caster sugar) 75 g Unsalted butter, cubed and chilled 1 Large egg, separated	200 g White chocolate, broken into pieces 100 g Milk (or dark) chocolate glaze (I used Lindt milk chocolate glaze in a squeeze bottle)

1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the sultanas and currants in a small pan with the orange juice and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat slightly, then simmer for 5 minutes, until the fruit has softened. Remove the pan from the heat, then drain the fruit, discarding the orange juice. Spread the fruit out on a plate lined with kitchen paper to cool and remove any excess moisture.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt into and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water and mix with a table knife until the mixture comes together to form a firm dough. Knead the dough very gently into a ball, then flatten it into a disc. Wrap the disc and chill it for 20 minutes.
4. Lightly dust the work surface with flour, cut the dough in half and roll out each piece to a 20 x 25 cm rectangle.
5. Lightly brush one of the rectangles with beaten egg white, then scatter the soaked dried fruit evenly over the top. Lay the second rectangle of pastry directly on top to cover.
6. Roll lightly over the dough sandwich until the two halves stick together. It doesn't matter if the dried fruit comes out here and there - that's what gives these English biscuits their charm. Trim the edges neatly if you prefer, then cut the rectangle lengthways in half. Cut each new rectangle of pastry crossways into 6 equal biscuits to make 12 biscuits in total. Prick the dough all over with a fork and brush with the remaining beaten egg white.
7. Place the biscuits on a baking tray lined with baking paper, spacing them out evenly. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove the biscuits from the oven and leave them to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. While the biscuits are cooling, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate into a wide, shallow bowl or large ramekin. At the same time, place the milk chocolate glaze in a squeeze bottle in a large bowl for 10 minutes until melted. If you are using regular milk chocolate, just melt them in a separate heatproof bowl in the same way, then spoon it into the small piping bag fitted with a small writing nozzle.
9. Dip one long side of one biscuit into the melted white chocolate until it is half coated. Scrape the bottom of the biscuit along the edge of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate on the base, then place it on a baking paper or wire rack.
10. Squeeze or pipe 2 thin lines of milk chocolate lengthways down the dark chocolate coating. Using the cocktail stick, drag the lines of milk chocolate first one way towards the centre of the biscuit, then in the opposite direction towards the edge of the biscuit, repeating to make a feather pattern across the coated half of the biscuit. Repeat with the remaining biscuits. Once you have decorated all of the biscuits, chill them for 5-10 minutes, until set, before serving.

© 2024 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2024 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com