Piped dreams

How to take your biscuit baking up a notch

THIS TIME LAST YEAR I was peering into an ornate doll’s house as grand as the finest Dutch cabinets, its rooms fastidiously decorated. Except that it wasn’t a doll’s house but a model of Waddesdon Manor made entirely of gingerbread. The miniaturised Buckinghamshire stately pile was the work of the hand-iced biscuit makers at Biscuiteers, who used 30kg of butter and sugar and 240g of eggs to bake it. The piped royal icing was so intricate that it captured the nautical scenes of paintings that hang on Waddesdon’s walls. And, goodness, it smelled incredible.

This was one of the latest large-scale sculptures in the Biscuiteers portfolio, but you’re more likely to have nibbled its brightly iced biscuits. This year marks a decade of ‘Biscuiteering’ – celebrated with a new book, Biscuiteers Book of Iced Gifts, from which these recipes come – that has seen collaborations with brands including Dior and Goodwood.

It all stemmed from a collection of shoes and handbags imagined by founder Harriet Hastings 10 years ago. ‘My story is not that of a passionate home baker,’ she takes pains to explain. She combined her background in brand marketing with her husband’s catering experience to establish a company that would ‘take on flowers and chocolate’ and provide an alternative gift, something sophisticated but witty too. Hastings’ creations are instantly likeable. ‘We always knew other people would be icing biscuits; we just wanted ours to be the most beautiful and most interesting,’ she says. The company’s emphasis on ‘collections’ made them a hit with the fashion industry, and within four months Selfridges was knocking on the door.

The book covers everything from icing techniques to gift-wrapping ideas. The only thing not included is a steady hand – an essential skill among the 50odd Biscuiteers decorators who prepare orders to be shipped around the world. Trench coats and flowers have been joined by bike-ride designs, and there are plans for a biscuit table-football team. ‘We have fun with it,’ says Hastings. ‘We are simply trying to spread a bit of happiness.’ —Recipes overleaf Biscuiteers Book of Iced Gifts (Michael Joseph, £20). To pre-order your copy for £14.99 plus p&p, call 0844-871 1514 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk