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Biscuit recipes for dipping into sweet wines

September 21, 2015 3 Comments Filed Under: Desserts and sweets, Food, Recipes, Wine

wine biscuits: biscuits roses de reims and pistachio cantuccini
biscuits roses de reims

Sweet Biscuit Recipes for dipping into wines


Long ago bakers discovered that if you bake something twice….bi (two) cuit (cooked) it becomes crunchy and lasts longer hence the name biscuits. 
One of the earliest biscuits is the Ships Biscuit or hard tack as it’s often known. It required baking four times to a rock hard consistency,  in order to withstand the dampness of being at sea for long voyages. This was served at every meal. I’ve made hard tack for a historical supper club based on the books of Patrick O’Brian author of Master and Commander. I baked them twice rather than four times, but still had to warn guests that I would not be responsible for their dental bills.

Sweet and savoury

The British are biscuit lovers; unlike the French we eat cheese with biscuits rather than with bread as the French do. 
We also love to dunk them in tea. In France they will often dunk buttered (unsalted) bread into their coffee (making an early ‘bullet proof’ coffee) but when they dunk biscuits on the continent, they prefer to dunk into alcohol.
In my Patrick O Brian supper club I made ratafias, a little like macaroons, which they would drink but not dunk in a glass of Madeira wine.
You could try this gorgeous amber Madeira wine from Portugal, Henriques & Henriques Malvasia 10 Years at £18 a bottle. 
In Italy they dunk Biscotti into Vin Santo (Holy wine) but the original Vin Santo comes from Greece, which winetrust stocks, Santorini Vinsanto, Argyros Estate at £26. This fortified wine  is comprised of three native grapes (80% Assrytiko, 10% Athrini, 10% Aidani) from Santorini, a hot, dry volcanic island that grows vines in a low lying basket shape to avoid destruction by the winds. 
Another sweet Italian dry biscuit is Cantucci, sometimes called Cantuccini. What is the difference between Biscotti and Cantucci? According to one source it’s that Biscotti are larger and contain fat. I’d try these with a low alcohol (only 5.5%) white refreshing Italian Vajra Moscato d’Asti at £12.95.
In Puglia they dip Taralli, a dry crunchy plain biscuit which is either sweet or savoury tied into a knot, into wine. Taralli are one of the oldest food stuffs, the recipe originally hails from Greece. I’d recommend a Sicilian wine Zibbibo, Gibelè, at £11.75 for dipping purposes. 
In Spain anise and olive oil thin Tortas de Aceite, a kind of thin flaky sweet and salty crispbread, are popular eaten with cheese, coffee and sherry. There are different flavours, some with orange or lemon. 
Dip these into a dry fino sherry ‘Innocente’, from Valdespino, Jerez at £8.95 or a Castano dulce at £15, the latter particularly good with a cheese board.
In France, in the champagne region, there is a celebrated speciality ‘biscuits roses de reims’, a sugary pink boudoir style biscuit that I have tried to recreate. Actually I think mine are tastier because I’ve added rose water. The recipe is below. Dip these into champagne or sparkling wines such as a pretty pink Moscato, Innocent Bystander at only £5.75 for a half bottle or going more upmarket in terms of pink fizz, an English ‘champagne’ style Nyetimber Rosé Brut at £35.00 or classic champagne such as Gremillet Rosé d’Assemblage Brut at a bargainous £25!
Here are a couple of recipes for you to try at home, the perfect end for a dinner party. 
Home made biscuits roses de reims

Biscuits Roses de Reims with rosewater

The original recipe is a secret so I spent several days testing and this is the closest I could get to it. I added rosewater which isn’t in the original recipe, and actually I think this is a bit nicer. If you don’t like rosewater you could leave it out.
I’d get out a few bowls for this to weigh your ingredients into, otherwise it’s easy to make a mistake with the order of ingredients. 
These will be piped by hand so they won’t look exactly like the Biscuits Roses de Reims but they will look like funky sponge fingers.
Go here to winetrust100.co.uk for the biscuits roses de Reims recipe and also for a delicious

Pistachio cantuccini recipe
Pistachio cantuccini
Do you have any biscuit and booze combinations that you like? Do let us know in the comments. 
wine and biscuits: biscuits roses de reims and pistachio cantuccini

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Comments

  1. Jacob Shamon

    September 21, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    Nice Information

    Reply
  2. Dolores Doolittle

    September 21, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    Can`t Wait too try both these biscuits – sound absolute delights. Would they work with sherry if we are without champagne? (Which we are)
    As for other booze and bics combinations, I love Jack Daniels and… Ginger biscuits? Or dipped into delectable Rich Ginger Cake

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      September 21, 2015 at 5:30 pm

      I reckon they will work with any wine to be honest.
      Jack Daniels and ginger biscuits? That sounds intriguing…

      Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

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Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Apple rose blossom tarts with rose jam. Rose Appl Apple rose blossom tarts with rose jam.  Rose Apple Blossom Tarts

Serves 8

Equipment: 
Microwave
Cupcake or muffin tin

I use a red-skinned apple to make these, to get a hint of blush at the edges of the ‘petals’.

Ingredients:
4 Pink Lady or Royal Gala apples, cored, cut into quarters, sliced thinly into half moons
1 lemon, squeezed
1 pack all butter readymade puff pastry 320g, on a roll, cut into 8 strips about 6 cms long
100g of melted butter
1/2 jar of rose jam
1 or 2 tbsp cinnamon or cardamom, ground 
Pinch maldon salt
2 or 3 tbsp icing sugar

Instructions

Prepare a bowl of acidulated water (cold water with lemon juice) to prevent browning.
Core the apples, and cut them in quarters. Slice thinly into half-moons (a mandolin is useful for this). 
Put them into a large bowl of cold water with the lemon.
Microwave the bowl of sliced apples for 5 minutes until soft enough to bend slightly but not cook them.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Roll out the puff pastry. Divide into 8 sections by cutting the roll into quarters then halving each quarter. You will end up with 8 approximately 6cm strips.
Brush the strip with melted butter then paint with a layer of rose jam. You can then dust with either ground cinnamon or cardamom.
Lay the apple slices along the top of the pastry strip, overlapping them. Fold up the bottom half of the pastry strip to make an pleat with the skin side of the apple half moon poking over the top.
Roll up the folded pastry strips until they look like a rose made of apple at the top
Place ‘rose’ side up, in a buttered cupcake tin
Repeat until all are done and bake for 20 -30 minutes.
Using a tea strainer or small sieve, sprinkle with icing sugar.
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