Homemade Tea cakes

I’d been eyeing up the teacakes in my Peyton and Byrne book for a while, but admittedly I was nervous about baking them.

Until last week, I’d never made my own marshmallow and I’d heard plenty of horror stories about getting it wrong! Thankfully I had nothing to worry about – the recipe is really easy to follow, and the results are delicious. The most difficult part is piping the marshmallow, but with a little practise, you’ll soon perfect your technique. The best tip I can give you is to put your piping bag in a pint glass, roll the sides over the glass edge and scoop the marshmallow in slowly with a tablespoon (that way you won’t end up covering yourself/the bag/the kitchen in marshmallow like I did the first time…)

The original recipe also includes 1 tbsp of double cream in the biscuit base, but personally I don’t feel it adds anything to the taste or texture. I went a little bit thicker on my base, but it meant the marshmallow and chocolate held well. Next time I’d love to try these with a layer of jam; I might even adapt the recipe to make homemade Wagon Wheels in the future.

The biscuit base

• 110g plain flour
• 60g unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 60g caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks (save the whites for the filling)
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

The marshmallow filling

• 2 egg whites
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of golden syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

The chocolate topping

• 250g of good quality milk chocolate (or dark if you prefer)

Make it!

• Preheat the oven to 180/gas mark 4. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper and set to one side.
• Grab a bowl and sift together the flour, baking powder bicarb of soda and salt.
• In a separate, larger bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix well, then add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Scoop the dough into 12 balls and roll gently in your hands before placing them onto a prepared tray. I found that the mixture doesn’t spread too far, so you may want to push down gently on the tops to prevent a biscuit mound and give yourself a flatter surface to pipe onto.
• Bake for around 10 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
• Whilst the biscuits are cooling, you can move onto the marshmallow filling. Put all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of boiling water. Whisk continuously by hand for 10-15 minutes (ouch) until all the sugar has dissolved and mixture becomes frothy and slightly opaque.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and using a handheld mixer, whisk until you have the consistency of meringue. Once the mixture is white and holds its shape, it’s ready to pipe!
• Pipe generous amounts of marshmallow on top of each biscuit. Don’t worry about creating perfect shapes – after all, you’re going to smother it in chocolate anyway.
• Once the marshmallow has set (I found half an hour in a cool area was plenty of time) you can get to melting your chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. When the chocolate is ready, remove from the heat and leave to sit without stirring for 7-10 minutes.
• Place a wire rack over a tray lined with baking paper, line up your teacakes and start spooning the melted chocolate over the marshmallow. The best method is to drop the chocolate directly over the top and assist carefully with a teaspoon to ensure full coverage.
• Leave to set and then enjoy! Teacakes should be eaten on the same day as making them, and no later than the following day.