How have we got to week seven already? Only 3 more weeks to go before we learn who will be the final BBC Great British Bake Off winner.

This week we’re once again bringing you Bettys Baking Secrets and in this recipe it’s all about Finger Biscuits.

INGREDIENTS – FINGER BISCUITS

  • 100g butter, softened
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 egg (medium), beaten
  • 1-2 drops of vanilla extract

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (fan assisted).
  2. In a large bowl, use a spoon to cream the butter and sugar together until pale and uffy.
  3. Gradually add the beaten egg and vanilla.
  4. Fold in the our, baking powder and lemon zest to form a thick paste.
  5. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and pipe the mixture into nger shape pieces ensuring you leave plenty of space between each biscuit.
  6. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 6-8 minutes until light golden brown in colour. Cool on a wire rack. The biscuits will rm up on cooling.

BETTYS TOP TIPS

SHELL TRICKS

Place a cloth under the bowl – it’s your second pair of hands.

Cream the biscuit mixture with a spoon to present too much air entering the mix.

If you get eggshell in your mix, use a half of eggshell to draw it back in.

Whisk the egg thin so it can be added in three small additions.

Once the mixture has drunk in the egg, it starts to stick to the bowl. Time for the next addition.

As you get towards the last addition of egg, add less.

Keep scraping the mixture into the middle to create a mass.

If the mix starts to look shiny and greasy and no longer clings to the bowl, you may have added too much egg.

BEST ZEST

Wash lemon in cold water to remove wax but not the essential oils.

Citrus should always be at room temperature to increase yield of juice and the fragrance from the essential oils beneath the zest.

Scuff citrus in one direction on microplane. Otherwise it damages the microplane.

Don’t take the ‘pith’ – it changes its flavour profile.

Cut the our into the butter mixture with your pastry cutter.

Bring the dough together with your hands – the warmth will help bring it together.

ROPEY PIPING

When line piping, allow mix to fall from the piping bag drop like a piece of rope, rather than dragging it.

If your mixture is quite firm, soften it with a few drops of water.

If you’re not sure how many biscuits will fit in your tray, test-bake one and see how far it travels.

Space biscuits well so they colour evenly.

If baking more than one batch on the same tray, cool down your tray in between bakes.

BOTTOMS UP

Biscuits bake from the bottom up so check the underside to see if they’re ready.

When you take them out of the oven, don’t take them straight off the tray. They’re still baking as they’re cooling.

Leave for five minutes on a cooling wire so air still circulates. Otherwise – soggy bottom!

If your biscuits go stale, pop them back in the oven for five minutes to perk them up.

Store them in an airtight tin with a few sugar cubes to retain crispness.

For more Bettys Baking Secrets, including recipes for Swiss Roll and Soft White Bread Rolls, and handy tips for piping, visit www.bettys.co.uk/bettysbakingsecrets