This must be everyone's favourite biscuit? And there's nothing tastier than a homemade version. The trick I discovered is the filling -- not just sandwiched together with some jam, and not just a caramel, but a jammy caramel that's jammier than jam.
For this recipe you will need two lined baking trays and a large saucepan and sieve for making caramel, and biscuit cutter (plain and fluted).
Ingredients:
For the biscuits
220g Unsalted Butter, Softened
110g Golden Caster Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
340g Plain Flour
For the jam caramel
120g Fresh Raspberries
75ml Double Cream
100g Unsalted Butter, Softened & Cubed
300g White Caster Sugar
75ml Water
How I make my jammy dodgers:
First, I make the caramel as this requires 100% attention and takes a little time and effort. This is a very satisfying process and once you've practiced the art of making caramel, it's quite straightforward.
Start by mashing the raspberries through a sieve into a measuring jug. Add enough cream so you end up with 140ml of liquid.
Using your large saucepan, place the caster sugar and water into the pan - go larger than you think so you can see what is happening. Caramel requires 100% attention so don't be tempted to wander off or look at your phone! You can initially stir the sugar and water so they mix well but be gentle. Stop stirring after a few minutes and have a small jug of water and (if you have one) a silicon brush handy to remove any crystals that may start forming. Check the sides of the pan especially.
Let the mixture come to a boil - it will start to get clearer and the size of the bubbles will start to get smaller and the mixture will appear thicker. It will start to turn coppery in colour -- be very careful here because it can go from coppery to burnt very quickly.
As soon as the caramel is coppery in colour, remove from the heat and immediately add the raspberry cream and butter, whisking to incorporate. Be careful, as it may spit at you! Return the mixture to the heat as you continue whisking, bringing back to the boil for 2 minutes. Take off the heat and pour into a bowl and leave to cool while you make the biscuits. When cool enough, place in the fridge to set. Side note: this caramel will keep in the fridge for a while in a tupperware.
For the biscuits, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in the vanilla. Add the flour and, using your hands, mould the dough into a ball. Flatten into a disc shape, wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC Fan.
Roll your dough to a 1cm thickness. I used a 6cm diameter smooth, round cutter for the bottoms and the same size but fluted cutter for the tops. For the middle holes in the top disc, I used the end of a piping nozzle. Once shaped and ready on your braking trays, bake for 10-12 minutes.
Once baked, sandwich together one smooth round biscuit with a top fluted biscuit with some of the jammy caramel. If your caramel has become too stiff, warm it for a few seconds in the microwave.
These go really well with a cup of tea.
Event tip:
These are the perfect biscuits for impressing because how many people do you know who make their own jammy dodgers?! I promise you that once you've tasted homemade, you'll never go back to shop bought! These are definitely biscuits you can have pre-prepared at least two weeks ahead of needing them. The uncooked biscuit dough can be made and frozen until needed. The jam caramel will keep very well in the fridge in a sealed tupperware for a few weeks.
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