Brandy Snaps are lacy thin sweet biscuit-type treats traditionally filled with whipped cream, oddly with no brandy in them. We have taken our Brandy Snaps a step further by filling them with an aromatic Earl Grey Cream. Caramelised crunchy biscuits with a fragrant creamy filling are some of the most addictive treats we've made this year!
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Easy Old-Fashioned Brandy Snaps Recipe
I always think of brandy snaps as an extremely old-fashioned dessert that ladies have with their tea in fine china cups. Since brandy snaps were a technical challenge on a Great British Bake Off I also assumed that they are very difficult to make. Well, I was wrong!
Brandy snaps use very simple everyday ingredients and they aren't difficult to make at all. As long as you dissolve the sugar properly and roll them whilst they're still warm and flexible, there isn't much else than can go wrong!
Do Brandy Snaps Contain Brandy?
Brandy Snaps contain no brandy or any other spirit for that matter. Why BRANDY Snaps, you ask? Well, apparently, the word brandy is actually a derivative of the word 'branded' that, in turn, means burnt, referring to burnt (or caramelised) sugar.
Brandy Snaps Filling Ideas? Earl Grey Cream!
My friend posted me a gift of a selection of the most amazing teas a couple of weeks ago. They tasted gorgeous and I was itching to do something more with them. The Proper Tea (not an affiliate link) Earl Grey is one of the most fragrant Earl Grey teas I've ever had. So after some deliberation on what flavours would go well with brandy snaps, I've decided to give a cream infusion a go. And it worked a treat! Read on for tips and tricks on how to make the best earl grey whipped cream!
Method
To Make the Earl Grey Cream
Into a small saucepan, pour 150ml of double cream and add either a teabag of high-quality Earl Grey or an infuser with a teaspoon of loose leaf Earl Grey tea.
Warm it on low heat until it's hot, but don't let it boil. Occasionally stir the cream and, if using an infuser, stir the leaves inside it. Just before boiling point, take it off the heat, cover with a lid and leave the cream to infuse for 30 minutes.
Take the tea out of the cream squeezing the bag/tea leaves out, and leave it to cool completely. Then pop it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before whipping it.
When you are ready to make Earl Grey Whipped Cream, add a teaspoon of icing sugar to the infused cream. Use an electric whisk (it will need some extra vigour to whip up the cream that's been heated up and cooled again with the added tea and oils) and whip the cream to soft peaks. It will take a white to get the earl grey infused cream to whip up. Don't worry, keep going - it will happen eventually!
To Make Brandy Snaps
I used the Mary Berry Brandy Snaps recipe to make these, and they worked great!
Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan. Line a couple of large baking trays with baking parchment. Get 4 wooden spoons or other utensils with thick wooden handles and lightly brush them with oil. You will use them to shape your brandy snaps into cigars.
Add demerara sugar, butter and golden syrup to a small pan and heat on very low heat until sugar completely dissolves. Don't let the mixture boil. Stir the mixture once in a while and take it off the heat if it starts to bubble. It may take 15-20 minutes for the sugar to dissolve but be patient and make sure there are no granules left before proceeding. This is the most important step!
Take the sugar mixture off the heat and leave it to cool down for 3 minutes. Then sieve the flour and ginger into it and mix to combine. Finally, stir in the lemon juice.
Drop large teaspoons of the brandy snap mixture onto a baking tray (no need to spread it out) leaving at least 10 cm in between them. They will spread out lots in the oven. The mixture will thicken and stiffen as it cools, but don't worry - the snaps will still spread out in hot temperatures.
Bake one tray at a time for approx. 15 minutes (you will need to wrap them around the spoon handle quickly before they go hard, so don't want to have too many at any one time).
Take the snaps out of the oven and leave them to cool for approx 1 minute. Then, taking care not to burn your hands, gently wrap each biscuit around the handle of the spoon to form a small tube. Lay them down to cool seam side down. Repeat with the rest of the biscuits.
Once cooled, take them off the spoon. Pipe the tea-infused whipped cream into your brandy snaps and enjoy!
Other Sweet Dessert Recipes
If you have a sweet tooth like us, may we try and tempt you with our other scrumptious bakes and desserts, including:
Recipe Card
Brandy Snaps with Earl Grey Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Earl Grey Infused Cream:
- 150 ml double/heavy or whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon loose-leaf Earl Grey tea high quality and fragrant
- 1 teaspoon icing sugar
For Brandy Snaps:
- 55 g butter
- 55 g demerara sugar
- 55 g golden syrup
- 50 g plain white flour
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
To Make the Earl Grey Cream:
- In a small saucepan, pour 150ml of double cream in and add either a teabag of high quality Earl Grey or an infuser with a teaspoon of loose leaf tea.
- Warm it on low heat until it's hot, but don't let it boil. Occasionally stir the cream and, if using an infuser, stir the leaves inside it. Just before boiling point, take it off the heat, cover with a lid and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
- Take the tea out of the cream and leave it to cool completely. Then pop in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before whipping it.
- When you're ready to whip, add a teaspoon of icing sugar to the whipped cream. Use an electric whisk (it will need some extra vigour to whip up the cream that's been heated up and cooled again with the added tea and oils) and whip the cream to soft peaks.
To Make Brandy Snaps:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan. Line a couple of large baking trays with baking parchment. Get 4 wooden spoons or other utensils with wooden handles and lightly brush them with oil. You will use them to chape your brandy snaps into cigars.
- Add demerara sugar, butter and golden syrup to a small pan and heat on very low heat until sugar completely dissolves. Don't let the mixture boil. Stir the mixture once in a while and take it off the heat if it starts to bubble. It may take 15-20 minutes for the sugar to dissolve but be patent and make sure there're no granules left before proceeding.
- Take the sugar mixture off the heat and leave to cool down for 3 minutes. Then sieve the flour and ginger in and mix to combine. Finally, stir in the lemon juice.
- Drop large teaspoons onto a baking tray (no need to spread it out) leaving at least 10 cm in between them. They will spread out lots in the oven.
- Bake one tray at a time for approx. 15 minutes (you will need to wrap them around the spoon handle quickly before they go hard, so don't want to have too many at any one time).
- Take them out of the oven and leave to cook forlapprox 1 minute. Then, taking care not to burn your hands, gently wrap each biscuit around the handle of the spoon to form a little tube. Lay down to cool seam side down. Repeat with the rest of the biscuits.
- Once cooled, take them off the spoon. Pipe the Earl Grey infused whipped cream into your brandy snaps and enjoy!
Nutrition
Anita says
I always thought it is impossible to make complicated recipes like this at home without buying special tools. Must give this a try ASAP.
Ieva says
I was intimidated by the brandy snaps for years until I realised how easy they are to make. Definitely worth a try! 🙂
Emily says
These are so beautiful! I am always looking for new treats to try and this is top on my list!
Ieva says
Thanks, Emily! Hope you get to try them soon! 🙂
Vanessa says
So good! I did have one problem though - stopping myself from eating them all! 🤣
Ieva says
That's a wonderful problem to have! Thanks, Vanessa! 🙂
Liz says
I love the flavor of earl grey so this creme is addictive! These are such a cute treat!
Ieva says
Thanks, Liz! They are delicious, and surprisingly not as difficult to make as some may think!