The final bake I made for week 2 of the Great British Bake Off were Steven's amarpressi biscuits - they were piped amaretti biscuits filled with a coffee mascarpone filling. The first issue I had was finding one of the ingredients - semolina. None of my local big supermarkets stocked it (it must not be that popular in the UK anymore?), but luckily, my local Polish supermarket had loads of it!
The second issue I had was during the preparation of the biscuits. As I mentioned in a previous blog post (for the chocolate peanut butter spritz cookies), I've had some problems in sourcing good piping bags. I tried to make these on the same day as the spritz cookies and suffice to say, the piping bags were awful :(
I had a fix though, which doesn't look as pretty as Steven's, but is less fiddly :) I shaped balls of the dough, then squished them with a fork.
The filling is delicious, but not one children would like (or anyone who dislikes coffee). The instant coffee granules I used were pretty chunky (I used Nescafe Gold Black blend), so as you'll see in the recipe I used a little hot water to make the coffee into a smooth paste - this worked well, but if you have super fine coffee granules, the step isn't necessary.
This biscuit is very yummy, with a crisp outside and soft inner, even if you decide not to sandwich them. Perfect alongside a cup of coffee or tea, or even a cup of milk for the kiddies.
I increased Steven's original recipe and was able to make 24 small sandwich cookies.
Ingredients:
For the biscuits:
- 210g (1 & 3/4 cups) ground almonds
- 210g (1 cup - 2tsp) caster sugar
- 45g (3 tbsp) semolina (I used non-instant)
- 3 egg whites
- 1 & 1/2 tbsp amaretto liqueur
For the filling:
- 190g (7/8 cup) full-fat mascarpone cheese
- 1 teaspoon very finely ground/espresso-grind coffee beans, or to taste
- 20-30g (4-6 tsp) instant espresso coffee powder (if using chunkier coffee granules, dilute in 1-2tsp of water to get a smooth but spreadable paste, and use that), or to taste
- 45-60g (3-4 tbsp) icing sugar
- 25g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids)
To finish:
- 75g (1/2 cup) dark chocolate (optional)
- 1 tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 190°c (170°C fan)/375°F/Gas mark 5. Grease and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. Put the egg whites in a large grease-free mixing bowl whisk (use an electric whisk or stand mixer for ease) until they stand in stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted.
3. Add the ground almonds, semolina, and caster sugar and carefully fold in using a large metal spoon or plastic spatula. When combined, add the amaretto. Use your hands to blend the amaretto in evenly.
4. Weigh out 10g of the dough and roll into a ball. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat to fill each sheet. Use a fork (lightly dusted with icing sugar) to press down each ball until they are about 5mm thick. Lightly press in the opposite direction to create a grid-like effect.
5. Bake the biscuits in the pre-heated oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until light golden with slightly darker edges.
6. Remove the trays from the oven and leave the biscuits for a few minutes to cool slightly and firm up before carefully transferring to a wire rack. Leave to cool before sandwiching.
7. To make the filling, spoon the mascarpone into a bowl and give it a quick stir, then add the finely ground coffee and instant coffee powder (or paste if your coffee isn't finely ground). Stir to combine, then cover and chill for about 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
8. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl with the coffee and mascarpone. Grate the chocolate on top and stir everything together. Taste the mixture and add more instant coffee or icing sugar as needed. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag (there's no need for a nozzle).
9. To assemble the biscuit, try to match the biscuits in pairs of the same size, shape and colour. Flip half of the biscuits over and pipe a mound of buttercream on these flipped biscuits. Top each biscuit with the other half of the pair and gently press the two together so the cream is gently and evenly pressed towards but not over the edges.
10. To finish, for extra indulgence, melt the dark chocolate in a microwave on high power, heating for 10-15 second bursts and stirring well after each burst, until all of the chocolate has melted. Dip the biscuits into the chocolate, or drizzle over each pair of cookies. I then dusted mine with a little desiccated coconut, but this is completely optional (I just liked the look of it).
10. Enjoy!
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