RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE COOKIE SANDWICHES

Creamy, pink, raspberryflavoured ganache, sandwiched between two white-chocolate cookies, rolled in chocolate curls and freeze-dried raspberries – heaven!

Makes six INGREDIENTS

For the white chocolate ganache 150g double cream

450g white chocolate, chopped Oil-based pink food colouring Few drops of raspberry flavouring

For the cookies

180g unsalted butter, melted 150g granulated sugar 150g light soft brown sugar 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

45g golden syrup

300g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder 300g white chocolate chips, plus extra for the top

For the filling 6 tsp raspberry jam

For the decoration Freeze-dried raspberry pieces and white chocolate curls, or other decoration of choice

METHOD

Start with the white chocolate ganache for the filling. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over a low heat until it steams and just starts to bubble. Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot cream over. Leave the chocolate to melt and gently stir to combine. Alternatively, put the chocolate and cream in a microwave-proof bowl and heat in 30-second intervals at full power until the chocolate has melted. Use a wooden spoon to mix the chocolate and the cream together. Ganache should have a thick, silky consistency. Leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours or at room temperature for four hours. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Mix together the melted butter, both sugars, the egg and egg yolk, and mix with a spoon until combined. Add to a stand mixer (this can also be done with a hand-held electric whisk) and add the golden syrup, flour and baking powder. Mix on a medium speed until combined, then add the chocolate chips and mix again. The mixture should be quite wet and stickylooking, so leave it for five minutes to settle. Using a small ice-cream scoop or your hands, ball the mixture into 12 small balls (around 75g per cookie). Arrange on two to three lined baking trays. Add extra chocolate chips to the top of the cookie dough balls, then bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Tap the baking trays onto a counter or table a couple of times to knock the air out of the cookies – they should deflate slightly when you do this. Leave to cool completely on the trays as they will continue to cook after they come out of the oven. Pair up similar-sized cookies together to make six cookie sandwiches. Once the ganache has set, use the whisk attachment of a mixer (or hand-held electric whisk) to whip until the consistency is like dense whipped cream. If the ganache is too stiff, add some warm cream, a dash at a time. If it is too runny, put it back into the fridge for a while before you whip it again.

Add in a little food colouring and a few drops of raspberry flavouring to taste. Put the ganache into a piping bag fitted with your nozzle of choice. Spread a teaspoonful of raspberry jam on the very centre of one of the cookies, making sure it is not spread too close to the edge. Pipe a large, classic rosette of ganache: point the piping bag vertically and, starting in the centre, touch the cookie with the nozzle. Applying medium pressure, squeeze the piping bag and allow the ganache to slowly swirl outwards until you reach about 1cm in from the edge of the cookie, and then squeeze and gently pull away to finish. Make sure to encase the jam; the ganache will solidify around it which will minimise the chance of the jam seeping out. Press the paired cookie onto the ganache and squeeze gently.

Turn the cookie sandwich on its side and sprinkle on the decoration of your choice. We use freeze-dried raspberries and white chocolate curls. Repeat to make the remaining sandwiches.