Choc-Mint Forcer Biscuits
This recipe is from episode 3 of Bakeology with Cal Wilson. It’s based on two classic biscuits from Cal’s childhood - forcer biscuits and ladybird biscuits.
These biscuits are soft, chocolatey and will just melt in your mouth. They pair perfectly with the mint fondant sandwiched in the middle, or you can keep them as single biscuits and drizzle them with some gorgeous runny peppermint icing (mix 100g of icing mixture, 20g of milk and 6-7 drops of peppermint essence together in a bowl and drizzle on the cooled biscuits).
Watch my how to video on Instagram
INGREDIENTS
Biscuits
30g dark chocolate
230g unsalted butter, room temp
100g soft icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg, room temperature
80ml full fat milk, room temperature
240g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
25g corn flour
Solid pinch of sea salt flakes
Mint fondant filing
175g soft icing sugar
20ml (4 teaspoons) of milk, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Special equipment
Two baking trays
A piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle (I used a Wilton 1M piping nozzle)
Small pastry brush
Rubber glove – optional, but helpful when making the fondant filling.
METHOD
Biscuits
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave in short 20 second bursts, stirring between bursts, and set aside to cool.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or hand beaters) beat the butter and icing sugar together. Start on a low speed so the icing sugar doesn’t puff up into your face. Beat until it is light and fluffy – about 3-5 minutes, stopping to scrape down your bowl with a spatula at least once.
Add the vanilla and melted chocolate and mix on low until combined.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together, and add to the chocolate/butter mix. Mix on low/medium until mostly combined. Don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t completely combine and looks slightly curdled - It should look like this. It’ll all come together when you add the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, mix the flours, cocoa powder and salt together. Add the combined dry ingredients to the wet, and mix on low until combined.
You want a stiff, but pipeable consistency (like a thick buttercream) that will hold its shape piped and baked. If the dough is looking too stiff, add a dash more milk and gently beat to combine.
Place a third-to-a-half of dough into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Its easier to use a smaller portion of the dough at a time. The warmth of your hands will make piping this dough a bit easier – they’re called ‘forcer’ biscuits for a reason!
Pipe the dough into 4cm donut shapes. Leave about 3cm between each piped biscuit as they spread slightly when baked.
Once you’ve piped all the dough, place the trays in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm up.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they look dry on the top and are firm-ish when you gently press them.
Once they’re baked, leave the biscuits on the tray for 5-10 minutes to set and cool. Gently transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
While you wait, make the mint filling.
Mint fondant filling
Place the icing sugar, milk, and peppermint essence into a bowl, and mix with a spoon. Use a delicate hand with the peppermint essence – use too much and you’ll enter toothpaste territory!
This mix gets very stiff, so you’ll soon have to abandon the spoon for your hands to bring this completely together. Plastic gloves help a lot here. If it’s too dry, add a TINY dash more milk. And if it’s too wet, add some more icing sugar.
Once the filling has come together, shape into a disc and place between two sheets of baking paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out to 7 - 5mm thick.
Use a 4cm cookie cutter to cut circles of the icing out.
Assemble
To sandwich the biscuits together, place a tablespoon of milk in a small bowl and use a pastry brush, to apply a small about to the base of one biscuit. Gently press a circle of fondant onto the just-brushed biscuit. Brush the exposed icing with milk and press the top half of the biscuit onto the icing. Repeat until you’ve sandwiched all the biscuits. Enjoy with a cup of tea!
These will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
