Ginger nuts

Makes 35-40 biscuits.

This recipe produces a soft, chewy ginger nut. These biscuits must not be overcooked or they will lose their ‘juiciness’.

You will need a silicone sheet or a well-greased baking tray and a wire rack.

150g (5½oz) light muscovado sugar

50g (2oz) sesame seeds

15g (¾oz) dried ginger

50g (2oz) desiccated coconut

150g (5½oz) golden syrup

150g (5½oz) unsalted butter

200g (7oz) plain flour

Preheat the oven to 140C/290F/gas mark 2 Combine the sugar, sesame seeds, ginger and desiccated coconut in a large bowl.

Melt the golden syrup and butter together and combine with the above ingredients.

Add the flour and stir into a thick paste. Pick up a little bit of the dough with a tablespoon and roll into a ball (a 15g-20g or ½oz-one-third oz ball will make a medium-sized biscuit) Place the balls of biscuit mix on the baking tray, well-spaced because they will spread during cooking.

Bake immediately for 15 minutes. You don’t want the biscuits to brown. If they do, you are cooking them for too long or at too high a heat. When the biscuits come out of the oven they are a little flimsy so let them rest for a minute or two before you transfer them to cool on a wire rack.

The ginger nuts will keep very well for a week or two in an airtight container.