Bake Off Recipe: Prue Leith’s Mint Chocolate Biscuits

After Eights had a fancy upgrade in this week’s episode of The Great British Bake Off. For the latest technical challenge, the bakers were tasked with creating 12 mint cream biscuits – without a recipe. The only clue they got from Prue Leith was that ‘the temperature is there for a reason’, but post-episode the official recipe has been shared. Fancy giving it a whirl at home? Here’s how.

Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge No. 2: Mint Chocolate Biscuits

‘These home-baked versions of the classic lunch box treat come with a snappy shortbread base, fondant mint centre and crisp chocolate coating.’

Ingredients:

Makes 12

For the shortbread biscuit base

• 120g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 60g caster sugar
• 120g plain flour
• 60g rice flour
• ¼ tsp fine salt

For the mint fondant

• 50g white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 100g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp peppermint extract

For the chocolate coating

210g 54% dark chocolate, broken into pieces

To decorate

50g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

Method:

1. Make the shortbread biscuit base. Beat the butter and caster sugar using an electric mixer, until combined and soft but not aerated. Add both flours and the salt and mix until the dough starts to clump together, taking care not to overmix. Tip the dough onto the work surface and use your hands to bring it together into a ball. Place the dough between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper and roll it out to 1cm thick. Transfer the dough sheet (still between the sheets of baking paper) to a baking sheet and chill until firm.
2. Make the mint fondant. While the dough is chilling, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and transfer the chocolate to a clean bowl, then leave to cool. Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/320°F/Gas 3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar until smooth and pale. Mix in the cooled white chocolate, then the peppermint extract. Spoon the mixture onto a sheet of baking paper and, using a palette knife, spread it out to a rectangle, about 20 x 7cm. Lift the baking paper onto a baking sheet and freeze until firm.
3. Shape the biscuits. Using a 5cm round cutter, stamp out 12 rounds from the chilled biscuit dough, re-rolling the trimmings if necessary. Place them on one of the lined baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes, until crisp and light golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the fondant from the freezer and, using a 3cm round cutter, stamp out 12 rounds of peppermint fondant and set aside until needed.
4. Make the chocolate coating. Melt 140g of the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water until it reaches 44°C/111°F on a cooking thermometer. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the remaining 70g of dark chocolate, stirring until it melts and cools to 32°C/90°F.
5. Assemble the biscuits. Dip the base of the cooled shortbread biscuits into the tempered dark chocolate and place them chocolate side-up on the other lined baking sheet. Chill until set, then place chocolate side-down on a wire rack set over a sheet of baking paper. Place a disc of peppermint fondant in the centre of each biscuit on the cooling rack, then spoon the tempered chocolate over the top to cover the filling and exposed shortbread edge. Leave the chocolate to set slightly.
6. To decorate, melt the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave the chocolate to cool. Spoon the chocolate into the small piping bag fitted with the small, plain writing nozzle. Pipe thin lines backwards and forwards across each biscuit, then leave to set. Wrap the biscuits in green foil for a fully nostalgic option, if you wish. Either way, they will store in an airtight tin for up to 3 days.

Recipe from thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk