A forest of Eastern spiced speculaas
As part of my (day) job I organise large events and occasionally receive a small Christmas gift from the many institutions I have worked with over the year. This year I was sent a really beautiful set of Christmas biscuit cutters from London Zoo, which were perfect for my annual batch of speculaas (Dutch spiced shortbread) for friends.
Christmas is time of spices, cinnamon in your mulled wine, cloves in oranges or scenting bread sauce for the festive bird, fragrant pine lit up in the corner surrounded by presents and the gentle warmth of ginger in a gingerbread house. I love the smells of these different spices, the tales of their history and use and was always fascinated by the story of the three kings with their gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh following the star in the East. The scent of spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg bring childhood memories alive and remind me of Sinterklaas (St Nicolas Eve) on 5 December. For a number of reasons (the cutters came from London Zoo, thinking of the exotic three kings, imagining far flung forests of the East filled with tigers and other wondrous beasts) I wanted to give this year's speculaas a slightly different take and instead of using the traditional spices opted for one of the beautifully fragrant garam masalas from Masala Monsoon. There are three floral blends, all quite different and I opted for the marigold petal masala, a golden hued blend of marigold petals, cinnamon, green aniseed, coriander, ajwain (a seed that tastes like a cross between anise and oregano), nutmeg, black cardamon, bay leaf, turmeric and red chilli. Don't be put off using such a combination in a sweet dish. The aniseed provides a delicate difference, the chilli a final warmth with no more heat than a ginger biscuit and the turmeric and marigold petals turn the dough a glorious golden colour.
A final snowy covering of white chocolate and a dusting of chopped green pistachio nuts finished my forest of Eastern spiced speculaas and with the trimmings of biscuit dough left I had enough for a shower of shooting stars dotted with edible silver.
Eastern spiced speculaas
150g unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
200g spelt flour (plain)
50g soft light brown sugar
50g soft dark brown sugar
2½ tsp Marigold Petal Garam Masala
large pinch of salt
2 tbsp almond milk
100g white chocolate
50g shelled pistachio nuts (chopped roughly)
Preheat the oven to 180℃ and line a couple of large baking trays with baking parchment. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mix resembles breadcrumbs and then add the milk until you have a firm and not too sticky dough. You can rest the dough overnight in the fridge (well wrapped in cling film or waxed paper) to allow the spices to infuse or freeze the dough (or a quantity of it) for a month (defrosting before use). On a well floured work surface roll out the dough to 0.5cm thick and cut into your biscuit shapes (or use a cup or jar). Transfer to a baking tray and bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on them, they cook quite quickly and you don't want them too dark. Cool the cooked biscuits on a wire tray. Melt the chocolate over a pan of hot water and scoop into an icing bag (or use the back of a spoon) to drizzle over the cooled biscuits. Sprinkle over the nuts before the chocolate sets. The quantity of biscuits you make will depend on the size of your cutter.
Christmas is time of spices, cinnamon in your mulled wine, cloves in oranges or scenting bread sauce for the festive bird, fragrant pine lit up in the corner surrounded by presents and the gentle warmth of ginger in a gingerbread house. I love the smells of these different spices, the tales of their history and use and was always fascinated by the story of the three kings with their gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh following the star in the East. The scent of spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg bring childhood memories alive and remind me of Sinterklaas (St Nicolas Eve) on 5 December. For a number of reasons (the cutters came from London Zoo, thinking of the exotic three kings, imagining far flung forests of the East filled with tigers and other wondrous beasts) I wanted to give this year's speculaas a slightly different take and instead of using the traditional spices opted for one of the beautifully fragrant garam masalas from Masala Monsoon. There are three floral blends, all quite different and I opted for the marigold petal masala, a golden hued blend of marigold petals, cinnamon, green aniseed, coriander, ajwain (a seed that tastes like a cross between anise and oregano), nutmeg, black cardamon, bay leaf, turmeric and red chilli. Don't be put off using such a combination in a sweet dish. The aniseed provides a delicate difference, the chilli a final warmth with no more heat than a ginger biscuit and the turmeric and marigold petals turn the dough a glorious golden colour.
A final snowy covering of white chocolate and a dusting of chopped green pistachio nuts finished my forest of Eastern spiced speculaas and with the trimmings of biscuit dough left I had enough for a shower of shooting stars dotted with edible silver.
Eastern spiced speculaas
150g unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
200g spelt flour (plain)
50g soft light brown sugar
50g soft dark brown sugar
2½ tsp Marigold Petal Garam Masala
large pinch of salt
2 tbsp almond milk
100g white chocolate
50g shelled pistachio nuts (chopped roughly)
Preheat the oven to 180℃ and line a couple of large baking trays with baking parchment. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mix resembles breadcrumbs and then add the milk until you have a firm and not too sticky dough. You can rest the dough overnight in the fridge (well wrapped in cling film or waxed paper) to allow the spices to infuse or freeze the dough (or a quantity of it) for a month (defrosting before use). On a well floured work surface roll out the dough to 0.5cm thick and cut into your biscuit shapes (or use a cup or jar). Transfer to a baking tray and bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on them, they cook quite quickly and you don't want them too dark. Cool the cooked biscuits on a wire tray. Melt the chocolate over a pan of hot water and scoop into an icing bag (or use the back of a spoon) to drizzle over the cooled biscuits. Sprinkle over the nuts before the chocolate sets. The quantity of biscuits you make will depend on the size of your cutter.
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