Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Welsh Fruit Biscuits
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
40 minutes
15 minutes
1 hour 40 minutes
Serves:
About 18–20 sheep biscuits
Louise created this dish for Great British Bake Off ™ Series 7. Her sheep-shaped biscuits carried the flavour of bara brith — dried fruit soaked in tea, warm mixed spice and bright citrus — under neatly piped royal-icing fleeces that Paul Hollywood singled out for praise. This Fix-It keeps that prai...
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Ingredients
FOR THE TEA-SOAKED FRUIT:
Strong hot black tea — 1/2 cup (120 ml), brewed strong
Mixed dried fruit (currants, sultanas, raisins) — 1 cup (150 g), finely chopped
Orange liqueur (optional) — 1 tsp (5 ml)
FOR THE BISCUIT DOUGH:
Cold unsalted butter, cubed — 1/2 cup (115 g)
Plain (all-purpose) flour — 1 3/4 cups (220 g)
Caster (superfine) sugar — 1/2 cup (100 g)
Light brown sugar — 2 tbsp (25 g)
Mixed spice — 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon — 1/2 tsp
Freshly grated nutmeg — 1/4 tsp
Orange zest, finely grated — 1 tsp
Lemon zest, finely grated — 1 tsp
Salt — 1/4 tsp
Large egg yolk — 1
Vanilla extract — 1/2 tsp (2 ml)
FOR THE ROYAL ICING:
Icing (powdered) sugar — 2 cups (250 g), sifted
Egg white — 1 large (or 2 tbsp/15 g meringue powder + water)
Lemon juice — 1/2 tsp (2 ml)
Black food-colouring gel — as needed
EQUIPMENT:
Baking sheets lined with parchment
Rolling pin (and 5–6 mm spacer guides if you have them)
Sheep-shaped cookie cutter (plus small detail cutters if desired)
Fine sieve and kitchen paper for draining the fruit
Mixing bowls (food processor optional)
Small bowls for colouring icing
Method
STEP 1: SOAK AND DRAIN THE FRUIT
Brew the tea strong and pour it over the finely chopped dried fruit, adding the orange liqueur if using. Soak for just 15–20 minutes, long enough to plump but not waterlog. Tip into a sieve and press gently, then spread on kitchen paper and pat thoroughly dry. Draining the fruit well keeps moisture out of the dough so the biscuits set crisp rather than soft.
STEP 2: MAKE A FIRM BISCUIT DOUGH
Rub the cold cubed butter into the flour, sugars, spices, zests and salt until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs (or pulse in a food processor). Add the egg yolk, vanilla and the drained fruit, then bring together into a firm, cohesive dough, working it as little as possible. Use no raising agent and add no extra liquid; if the dough is genuinely too dry to come together, add a teaspoon of the reserved tea at a time, no more. A low-moisture dough keeps the biscuits short and crisp.
STEP 3: CHILL THE DOUGH
Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap and chill for 30–60 minutes. Cold, firm butter gives a clean snap and stops the biscuits spreading in the oven.
STEP 4: ROLL EVENLY AND CUT THE SHEEP
Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to an even 1/4 inch (5–6 mm), using spacer guides if you have them so the thickness is consistent. Cut out the sheep, re-rolling the scraps once. Transfer to lined baking sheets and chill the cut shapes for a further 10 minutes so they hold their outline.
STEP 5: BAKE FULLY, THEN COOL TO CRISP
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 12–15 minutes, until firm to the touch and lightly golden at the edges. Let the biscuits firm on the tray for 3–4 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack, where they crisp as they set. The finished biscuit should snap cleanly with a short, shortbread bite.
STEP 6: MAKE THE ROYAL ICING
Whisk the sifted icing sugar with the egg white and lemon juice to a smooth, pipeable consistency, thick enough to hold a line but loose enough to flood. Keep most of it white for the fleece and colour a small portion black for the faces and legs. Cover the bowls with a damp cloth so the icing does not crust.
STEP 7: DECORATE THE SHEEP
Outline and flood the woolly fleece in white, then pipe the black faces and little legs once the white has firmed slightly. Add piped texture to the fleece if you like. Let the decorated biscuits set fully — several hours, ideally overnight — before stacking or boxing.
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Instructions
FOR THE TEA-SOAKED FRUIT:
Strong hot black tea — 1/2 cup (120 ml), brewed strong
Mixed dried fruit (currants, sultanas, raisins) — 1 cup (150 g), finely chopped
Orange liqueur (optional) — 1 tsp (5 ml)
FOR THE BISCUIT DOUGH:
Cold unsalted butter, cubed — 1/2 cup (115 g)
Plain (all-purpose) flour — 1 3/4 cups (220 g)
Caster (superfine) sugar — 1/2 cup (100 g)
Light brown sugar — 2 tbsp (25 g)
Mixed spice — 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon — 1/2 tsp
Freshly grated nutmeg — 1/4 tsp
Orange zest, finely grated — 1 tsp
Lemon zest, finely grated — 1 tsp
Salt — 1/4 tsp
Large egg yolk — 1
Vanilla extract — 1/2 tsp (2 ml)
FOR THE ROYAL ICING:
Icing (powdered) sugar — 2 cups (250 g), sifted
Egg white — 1 large (or 2 tbsp/15 g meringue powder + water)
Lemon juice — 1/2 tsp (2 ml)
Black food-colouring gel — as needed
EQUIPMENT:
Baking sheets lined with parchment
Rolling pin (and 5–6 mm spacer guides if you have them)
Sheep-shaped cookie cutter (plus small detail cutters if desired)
Fine sieve and kitchen paper for draining the fruit
Mixing bowls (food processor optional)
Wire cooling rack
Piping bags and fine nozzles
Small bowls for colouring icing
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: SOAK AND DRAIN THE FRUIT
Brew the tea strong and pour it over the finely chopped dried fruit, adding the orange liqueur if using. Soak for just 15–20 minutes, long enough to plump but not waterlog. Tip into a sieve and press gently, then spread on kitchen paper and pat thoroughly dry. Draining the fruit well keeps moisture out of the dough so the biscuits set crisp rather than soft.
STEP 2: MAKE A FIRM BISCUIT DOUGH
Rub the cold cubed butter into the flour, sugars, spices, zests and salt until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs (or pulse in a food processor). Add the egg yolk, vanilla and the drained fruit, then bring together into a firm, cohesive dough, working it as little as possible. Use no raising agent and add no extra liquid; if the dough is genuinely too dry to come together, add a teaspoon of the reserved tea at a time, no more. A low-moisture dough keeps the biscuits short and crisp.
STEP 3: CHILL THE DOUGH
Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap and chill for 30–60 minutes. Cold, firm butter gives a clean snap and stops the biscuits spreading in the oven.
STEP 4: ROLL EVENLY AND CUT THE SHEEP
Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to an even 1/4 inch (5–6 mm), using spacer guides if you have them so the thickness is consistent. Cut out the sheep, re-rolling the scraps once. Transfer to lined baking sheets and chill the cut shapes for a further 10 minutes so they hold their outline.
STEP 5: BAKE FULLY, THEN COOL TO CRISP
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 12–15 minutes, until firm to the touch and lightly golden at the edges. Let the biscuits firm on the tray for 3–4 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack, where they crisp as they set. The finished biscuit should snap cleanly with a short, shortbread bite.
STEP 6: MAKE THE ROYAL ICING
Whisk the sifted icing sugar with the egg white and lemon juice to a smooth, pipeable consistency, thick enough to hold a line but loose enough to flood. Keep most of it white for the fleece and colour a small portion black for the faces and legs. Cover the bowls with a damp cloth so the icing does not crust.
STEP 7: DECORATE THE SHEEP
Outline and flood the woolly fleece in white, then pipe the black faces and little legs once the white has firmed slightly. Add piped texture to the fleece if you like. Let the decorated biscuits set fully — several hours, ideally overnight — before stacking or boxing.
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