Cornish Fairings

One of the things I love about my parents kitchen is that it is always stocked full of every kind of ingredient a budding baker could need. I love to bake when I have a spare hour and this evening, after Noah went down, I decided to try my hand at an old English Classic: Cornish Fairings. 

After the excitement of The Great British Bake off in the last few weeks, I decided to try Paul Hollywood's version of this biscuit which was a common treat sold at the fairs in the West Country. Not only are they steeped in tradition, these lovely biscuits are so quick and easy to make- a great opertunity to get your little ones involved in baking! 

You will need:

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

100g unsalted soft butter

100g caster sugar

4 tbsp golden syrup 

1 tbsp milk

1) Heat the oven to 180oC/Gas 4. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.

2) Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices together in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

3)Mix the golden syrup with the milk until it has dissolved, stir it into the mixture, then bring everything together with your hands to make a dough.

4)Break off small pieces of dough and roll them into small balls. Space them out evenly on the lined baking trays, allowing room for the biscuits to spread during cooking.

5)Bake for about 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on the biscuits as they can darken very quickly towards the end of cooking. They should be a golden brown colour when done.

6)Leave the biscuits to cool on the baking trays for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Et voila! Get your little helpers around you to inspect the goods and have your own Great British Bake Off moment! Delicious!

xXx