How to Make the Best Tasting Spicy Brandy Snaps. Vegetarian Friendly Recipe.

Brandy snaps are wonderfully crisp, spicy little biscuits that taste great on their own or even better when filled with something like whipped cream. I have no idea why they are called brandy snaps as there isn’t any brandy in them, perhaps in the dim and distant past, they did include it. So with that in mind, I always put some brandy in the cream that I use to fill the snaps with.

Just add two tablespoons of brandy to half a pint of double cream and whip until light and fluffy. These lovely little sweet treats always remind me of Christmas and I like to make a huge batch around the festive holiday.

They are much too good to keep just for one time of year, I make some of these at least every six weeks and they always get eaten. For a bit of variety I sometimes dip a few curled brandy snaps into melted chocolate, just dip the ends and leave on some baking parchment to set. The quantity I’ve given here will make around twelve brandy snaps.

As an alternative to brandy, you can add something like Grand Marnier and a little orange zest to the cream, or try adding some very strong espresso coffee. These brandy snaps can be piled high on top of a coffee cake, or chocolate cake too, just spread a good amount of whipped cream on top of your cake and arrange the brandy snaps on top of the cream. Dust with icing sugar and you have a very sophisticated looking dessert.

These brandy snaps will keep quite well in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. They taste great with coffee or you can stick one or two in a large glass filled with your favourite ice cream. If I am keeping them in a tin I like to line it with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper, it helps to keep them crisper.

These great tasting little biscuits can be made suitable for vegans by using a vegan spread instead of butter and filling them with a cream substitute such as coconut cream. There are also a lot of vegan-friendly cream substitutes on the market, I find the ones made from soft, silken Tofu to be very good. They make single and whipping cream substitute,

I have found that the best results are obtained when the cream is not overworked. Too much whipping and you might find that your cream relaxes back to a more liquid state. You can add a little bit of cornflour to the Tofu to help it thicken.

You really won't be able to tell the difference. This is also a good way to allow people who are lactose intollerant to enjoy these brandy snaps.