A heavenly biscuit recipe and one that’s easy to make. If you didn’t have to wait for these to cool, they’d be on your plate in 20 minutes flat. You’ll love the deep, heavy cocoa flavour, as well as the dark decadent look. These biscuits are gluten-free, too.
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Makes 10
3 medium egg whites
250g (9oz) icing sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
A pinch of fine salt
85g (3oz) good-quality
cocoa powder
Serves 5-6, Makes 750ml (1 1/3 pints)
600ml (20fl oz) almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
140g (5oz) white marzipan
1/2 teaspoon powdered xanthan gum
2 teaspoons liquid pectin
150g (5 1/2oz) icing sugar, sifted
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas mark 4. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment. Put the egg whites, icing sugar, ground coffee, salt and cocoa powder in a large bowl and, using a wooden spoon, mix for 1–2 minutes until uniform and smooth. Spoon 20 scant tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets – the biscuits will spread, so leave 5cm (2in) space around each. Bake for 10–12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before peeling off the parchment. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow it to soften for 4–5 minutes before scooping and sandwiching between each pair of biscuits. Gently press together with your hands before serving.
TIP: These sandwiches can be made in advance and returned to the freezer. Simply remove from the freezer 5 minutes or so before serving.
Gently warm the almond milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan and, just as the milk begins to simmer and steam rises from the surface, remove from the heat. Using the coarse side of a box grater, grate the marzipan into the milk and str intermittently until the marzipan melts, roughly 5-6 minutes. If any pieces of marzipan are refusing to melt, briefly return the pan to the heat and continue to stir until they disappear.
Tip the xanthan gum into a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the warm almond milk mixture. Stir to combine until you have a thick, soft and uniform paste. Return this paste to the saucepan and continue to stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat. Stir in the pectin and icing sugar and again, stir until smooth and uniform. Set the mixture aside to cool for 2 hours.
Pour into an ice-cream machine and churn to a soft set following the manufacturer's instructions, or until the blade stops. Spoon the soft ice cream into an airtight, freezerproof container and put in the freezer for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight, until firm.
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