Cornish Fairings

Name: Cornish Fairings
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 16 servings
Cuisine: West Country
Ingredients: 200 g Plain flour; 100 g Unsalted butter; 100 g caster sugar; 75 g golden syrup; 2 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp mixed spice; 0.5 tsp Ground cinnamon; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 0.25 tsp Fine sea salt

Crisp, golden-brown ginger biscuits with a distinctive cracked surface, warming spices, and a balanced snap.

🇬🇧United Kingdom· South West England

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 30 min
Servings: 16
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 115 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 9 gathered

Servings

200 g Plain flour — sifted
100 g Unsalted butter — diced
100 g caster sugar
75 g golden syrup — roughly 2.5 tbsp
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice — a British blend of cinnamon, coriander, and allspice
½ tsp Ground cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda — helps create the cracked surface
¼ tsp Fine sea salt

Equipment

•Baking tray
•Greaseproof paper
•Mixing bowl
•Saucepan
•Wire cooling rack

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 115 kcal
fat: 4.5 g
carbs: 18 g
fibre: 0.5 g
protein: 1 g
calories: 115 kcal

Instructions

1
Preheat the fan oven to 160°C and line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2
Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, mixed spice, cinnamon, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3
Place the unsalted butter, caster sugar, and golden syrup into a small saucepan over low heat on the hob.
4
Heat gently until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves completely, stirring occasionally.
5
Pour the warm syrup mixture into the dry ingredients.
6
Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon until a soft, uniform dough forms.
7
Divide the warm dough into sixteen equal pieces and roll each into a smooth ball.
8
Place the balls onto the baking trays, spacing them at least five centimetres apart to allow spreading.
9
Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand.
10
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until dark golden and visibly cracked across the top.
11
Leave the biscuits on the tray for 5 minutes to firm up slightly.
12
Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely into a crisp, snappy biscuit.

Chef's tips

Leave generous space between each biscuit because the bicarbonate of soda and syrup cause them to spread widely. They will feel soft straight out of the oven but harden into their classic brittle snap as they cool.

Ingredient substitutions

unsalted butter → block plant-based butter
golden syrup → light treacle

Storage

Store the fully cooled biscuits in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Reheating

These biscuits are meant to be eaten crisp at room temperature and should not be reheated.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Crowding the baking tray, which makes the expanding biscuits merge into a single slab.
•Boiling the syrup and butter mixture vigorously, which can make the finished biscuits tough.
•Lifting them from the baking tray immediately after baking while still soft and fragile.

Serving suggestions

Serve with a pot of freshly brewed Cornish tea.Crumble over vanilla ice cream with warm poached pears.Pair with mature farmhouse cheddar for a traditional sweet and savoury bite.