These light, crunchy tuile-like rolled cookies are a popular tea cake and dessert. Using a star tip I would pipe whipped cream into half of the brandy snaps and the other half I would send up plain, without cream. Other times I would shape the brandy snaps around cream horn molds (cones) and make brandy snap cornets. These would be arranged neatly into a glass finger bowl and then filled with ice cream for the royal table. I think that is the closest the Queen ever came to eating ice cream out of a cone.
The brandy snaps can also be shaped around a tartlet mold to create a basket for sliced fruit. In that case, I would usually brush the inside with melted chocolate and let it set hard first. It stops the cookie from getting soggy when you serve it.
Golden syrup has the consistency of corn syrup and has a clear golden color. It’s made from evaporated sugar cane juice and has a rich flavor. A good substitute is King brand syrup, a mixture of corn and invert sugar syrup that is widely sold throughout the United States. Corn syrup will work too, but will not give the golden color.
½ cup Demerara sugar (turbinado sugar will work as an alternative)
8 tablespoons golden syrup
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1⅛ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-size, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the sugar, syrup, butter, flour, and ginger together over a low heat until combined. Be careful not to overheat; the mix just needs to be hot enough to melt the butter. Grease a large baking sheet or use a silpat nonstick baking sheet.
2. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the cookie mix onto the baking sheet, leaving about 6 inches between each one to allow for the mixture to spread. Bake for 6 minutes, or until golden brown; then remove the baking sheet from the oven, and let the brandy snaps cool just slightly.
3. When the brandy snaps have set, but are still warm and can be easily lifted off the baking sheet, quickly ease one at a time off with a flat metal spatula and roll around a ¾-inch wooden dowel or a wooden spoon handle to create cylinders. Place on a baking rack to harden completely, about 2 minutes, and then ease them off the wooden spoon.
4. Repeat the process. If the brandy snaps start to break as you roll them, return the tray to the oven for a few minutes and they will soften again.
MAKES ABOUT 30 SNAPS