Viennese biscuits dipped in chocolate

Ingredients

• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 150g golden icing sugar
• 250g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg white
• 100g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids)

Equipment:

Piping bag filled with a size 16 fluted piping nozzle

Method

1. Beat the butter with the vanilla until it is soft and creamy, then beat in the icing sugar, flour, salt and egg white until smooth.

2. Preheat the oven to 170oC / Gas mark 3 and line two baking trays with baking parchment. Spoon some of the mixture into the piping bag fitted with the nozzle (be careful not to overfill as it will be tricky to pipe out) and pipe 24 equal sized long biscuits onto the lined trays, allowing room for them to spread slightly. Top up the bag as necessary.

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave them on the tray for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Melt the chocolate and dip each end of the biscuits into it, shaking off any excess. Lay them on the prepared baking trays. Place the trays briefly in the fridge for the chocolate to set completely (if you don’t do this the biscuits are quite likely to go soggy). Serve with Chocolate Praline Spread of Gü Chocolate Ganache in our glass ramekins to dip them into.

Add some finely chopped pistachio or hazelnuts to the mix or add a pinch of ground spice such as cardamom, cinnamon or coriander (but make sure that you leave out the vanilla if using a spice, otherwise the flavours will clash).

Recipe from Gü Cookbook, Harper Collins 2012