Cornish Fairing

Cornish Fairings

A traditional Cornish spiced biscuit from the United Kingdom, crisp on the outside and with a lovely chew in the middle thanks to a generous measure of treacle and honey.

Prep

15 min

Cook

12 min

Total

27 min

Serves

12

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •225 g (8 oz) plain flour, plus a little for dusting
• •1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, not baking powder
• •2 tsp ground ginger
• •1 tsp ground cinnamon
• •0.5 tsp (½ tsp) ground cloves
• •0.5 tsp (½ tsp) ground nutmeg
• •1 pinch fine salt
• •100 g (3½ oz) unsalted butter, softened; a UK-style block butter works best
• •75 g (⅓ cup) light soft brown sugar, lightly packed
• •60 g (¼ cup) black treacle, British black treacle; substitute with dark molasses if unavailable, but the flavour deepens with real treacle
• •60 g (3 tbsp) clear honey, a runny local blossom honey is traditional
• •30 g (¼ cup) crystallised ginger, finely chopped, optional but authentic

Steps

1. 1 Line two baking trays with baking parchment and set aside.
2. 2 Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt into a large bowl.
3. 3 In a separate bowl, cream the softened butter and light soft brown sugar together with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes by hand or 2 minutes with an electric mixer.
4. 4 Warm the black treacle and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes until just fluid and easily pourable; do not let them boil. Pour into the creamed mixture and beat until fully combined.
5. 5 Tip the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir to form a soft, glossy dough. Fold in the chopped crystallised ginger, if using.
6. 6 Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours) until firm enough to roll.
7. 7 Heat the oven to 180 °C / 350 °F (fan 160 °C / 320 °F). Lightly dust the work surface with flour.
8. 8 Roll the dough out to about 5 mm (just under ¼ inch) thick. Cut into rounds with a 7 cm (2¾ inch) cutter and place them on the prepared trays, leaving 4 cm (1½ inches) between biscuits as they spread.
9. 9 Bake on the middle shelf for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are crackled and set at the edges but the centres still feel slightly soft when pressed. They will firm up as they cool.
10. 10 Leave the biscuits on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks; the flavour improves after a day.