Cornish fairings with sweet cream cheese mousse
- Petit four
- Easy
- Makes at least 40
- 1 hour 10 minutes
PT1H10M
Nathan Outlaw takes traditional Cornish fairings — a spiced ginger biscuit — to another level with a cream cheese mousse sandwiched between the tiny biscuits. This recipe makes a large batch, perfect as elegant petits fours or as an edible gift, although any leftover dough can be rolled into balls and frozen; bake from frozen for a few minutes longer to ensure they are cooked through.
Ingredients
Fairings
- 230g of unsalted butter , cubed
- 200g of golden syrup
- 460g of plain flour
- 230g of caster sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 4 tsp mixed spice
- 6 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- icing sugar, for dusting
Cream cheese mousse
- 450g of cream cheese
- 175g of caster sugar
- 180g of whipping cream
- 2 gelatine leaves, soaked in cold water
Method
1
To make the biscuit dough, sieve all of the dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Rub in the cubes of butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
- 460g of plain flour
- 230g of caster sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 4 tsp mixed spice
- 6 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 230g of unsalted butter , cubed
2
Place the golden syrup in a small pan and warm through gently so that it is slightly runnier. Pour over the crumb mixture and mix in well until it comes together as a smooth dough, taking care not to overwork the dough as it will become tough
- 200g of golden syrup
3
Wrap the dough well in cling film and transfer to the fridge to rest for 30 minutes
4
While the dough is resting, make the cheese mousse by beating together the cream cheese, sugar and 140g of the whipping cream in a large bowl until the mixture softens into a smooth cream
- 450g of cream cheese
- 175g of caster sugar
- 140g of whipping cream
5
Heat the remaining 40g of whipping cream in a small pan over a gentle heat. Remove the softened gelatine leaves from the soaking water and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible, then stir into the warm cream until fully dissolved. Combine this with the cream cheese mixture until fully incorporated, and place in the fridge to set
- 2 gelatine leaves, soaked in cold water
- 40g of whipping cream
6
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3 1/2
7
After the dough has rested, remove from the fridge and divide into 80–100 even portions weighing approximately 10g. Using your hands, roll each piece of dough into a small ball shape
8
Arrange these balls across lined baking trays and bake for 10–12 minutes until golden brown and slightly flattened. Transfer to wire racks and leave to cool
9
Once the biscuits are cool, use the cream cheese mousse to sandwich together pairs of the biscuits, flat-side down. Dust a little with icing sugar to serve
- icing sugar, for dusting
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Cornish fairings with sweet cream cheese mousse
