Wednesday 6 November 2013

Wagon Wheels.

So today I cross off my first bakeable treat on my to-do list...Wagon Wheels!
I love wagon wheels. They were a favourite childhood treat of mine, and although I haven't had one in many years, I still find them as delicious as ever!
 
I'm not sure what gave me the desire to make these from scratch, but after receiving encouragement from one of my lovely Instagram followers, I decided to give them a go!

After researching a variety of recipes on the internet, I still hadn't found one that stood out to me. Either the biscuit had multiple types of flours in it (I only have plain and self-raising flour at home) or some used pre-made marshmallow, such as marshmallow fluff (an American spread). So rather than following one recipe, I decided to combine different pieces of each one. So, here you go!
 
 
Wagon Wheels

Ingredients

Biscuit (Adapted from Donna Hay's Black and White Wagon Wheels)

 
© 170g unsalted butter, softened        
© 1 cup (160g) icing (confectioner's) sugar, sifted       
© 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
© 2 teaspoons honey
© 1 egg
© 2¼ cups (335g) plain flour
© 1 tsp baking powder

©A jar of jam (whatever flavour you wish to use..also, you won't be needing the whole jar!)

1) Preheat oven to 165°C (this temperature is for a fan-forced oven).
2) Cream butter and sugar in bowl for 5 minutes. Add in egg, honey and vanilla essence. Beat.



 
 
3) Add in flour and baking powder, and mix until combined.
4) Mix dough into a ball. Wrap in glad wrap and flatten out to a disc. Put in fridge for an hour to chill.
5) Once the dough has been in the fridge for an hour, roll between 2 sheets of baking paper until it is half a centimetre thick.
6) Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circle of dough and place on a baking tray lined with paper.


 
 
7) Place biscuits in the oven and cook for around 7 minutes (The time they take will depend on whether you are using a fan-forced oven or not).
8) Take out of oven and cool on a wire rack.


 
 
9) Pair up your biscuits so that you have two biscuits around the same size.
10) Spread one side with jam, and leave the other blank.

TPB TIP: All of my recipe's temperatures are based on a fan-forced oven. If you don't have a fan-forced oven, just add about 10-12°C onto the temperature I give you!
 
Marshmallow

© 1 cup castor sugar
© 2/3 cup water
© 1 tbl gelatine powder
© 1 tsp vanilla essence
© 1 tsp food colouring

1) Mix castor sugar, water and gelatine until dissolved. Place in pot over low heat and boil for 10 minutes. Do not stir it during this time!


 
 
2) After 10 minutes, take off heat and leave for another 10 minute interval.
3) Once cool, put mixture into a stand mixer and leave on medium speed for...you guessed it...10 minutes!

TPB TIP: You will know when your marshmallow is ready. The mixture will be firm enough to stand up by itself. But be careful, once it's ready, it doesn't take long to set!

Once your marshmallow is ready, and your biscuits are spread with jam, you are ready for assembly! Place your marshmallow in a piping bag with a small nozzle attached. Squirt a dollop of marshmallow on top of your jam. Be careful not to put too much on each, as remember you will be sandwiching another biscuit on top, which may cause the mixture to ooze out the sides. Put these in the freezer for around 10 minutes so that they firm up, ready to be dipped in the chocolate mixture.


 
 
Chocolate mixture

I used both white and dark chocolate for my wagon wheels, but you can choose whatever flavour you want.

© 400g dark chocolate
© 2 tbl vegetable oil

1) Melt chocolate in the microwave. Add in oil and mix well.
2) Dip each biscuit in the chocolate mixture, ensuring that the sides are covered well. Place on a tray lined with baking paper.
3) Cool in fridge.


 
 
 
 
 
TPB TIP: Don't stress if the dipping process becomes messy. This will always be the case! Just remain level-headed and you will be fine! Also, because the chocolate is very runny, most of the time you will get a little pool surrounding each biscuit. Don't worry, this can always be broken off after it has set.
 
And voilĂ , a yummy treat which will no doubt impress!
 






Until next time, happy baking.

xx




1 comment:

  1. Oh wow, they look so delicious! My sister is a big fan of wagon wheels too-if I made these she would be over the moon

    xx Carina

    ReplyDelete