Brandy snaps are a familiar sight on many Kiwi tables. These gluten-free brandy snaps are everything we love about a classic crunchy brandy snap, but in gluten-free form!
Whipped cream, to serve - see below for my Ultimate Whipped Cream recipe!
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180° Celsius. Line baking trays with non stick baking paper (use as many trays as you have).
Heat the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Don't let it boil, and don't rush it, it will take about 10 minutes for the sugar to dissolve. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
While it's cooling, sift together the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon and ginger into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Drop teaspoons full of the mixture onto the baking trays - four on each tray, spacing them well apart as they will spread, a lot!
Place one tray at a time into the oven and bake for approximately 6 minutes, you want them to be bubbling all over and very slightly darkened at the edges.
While the snaps bake, prepare your moulds. If you're not using cannoli tubes then lightly grease the handle of a wooden spoon or similar. Ideally, you will need four of whatever you are using. If it isn't non-stick, then lightly grease it. Place the moulds and an offset spatula within easy reach of where you will be rolling the snaps. Take the tray of baked brandy snaps out of the oven, put the next tray in and re-set the timer.
Slide the baked snaps, paper and all, off onto a heatproof surface and leave for 30 seconds. Use a spatula to gently lift the edge of one brandy snap, you need them to be just cool enough to lift off the paper but still be warm enough to be pliable. Flip the snaps over (so the bubbly side will be facing out) and quickly roll each one around your cannoli tube or spoon handle. Place them join side down onto a wire rack to cool.
When they are cool enough to hold their shape, gently pull the mould out. Try to slide the tubes out before the snaps have cooled completely, this lessens the risk of breaking. You may need to wipe some excess butter off the moulds before you re-use them (but don't wipe it all off, that way you won't need to re-grease them).
Continue baking the rest of the snaps. You can spoon more mixture onto the trays (re-lined with baking paper) when they are still hot from the oven - while the butter will start melting straight away, it doesn’t affect the snaps. If you find the snaps have cooled too quickly and they're too firm to roll, place them back on the warm tray for a minute and try again. If they're still too firm, you can place the tray back in the oven for another minute to soften them.
Fill the brandy snaps with whipped cream. It's best to fill the brandy snaps just before you eat them as once filled they will soften within half an hour or so.Unfilled snaps can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 - 3 days. Layer the snaps into the container between sheets of baking paper. I like to sprinkle a small amount of dry, uncooked rice onto the bottom of the container, then place a sheet of baking paper on top and begin adding the snaps - the rice will absorb any moisture in the container, keeping the snaps crisp.
Notes
Since the snaps need to be shaped while warm, only bake one tray at a time. To keep things moving, as you remove one tray from the oven place the next tray in and re-set the oven timer. This way you can crank out one tray every six or so minutes.I use brown rice flour and tapioca flour, but you could try these using your favourite gluten free flour blend.If you don't need the brandy snaps to be gluten free, replace the brown rice flour and tapioca flour with 100g of plain flour.There are no eggs in the brandy snaps, but remember to use regular whipped cream, not the ultimate whipped cream recipe below if you can't have eggs.Recipe adapted from Mary Berry's brandy snap recipe.
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