Fennel Seed Langues de Chat with Citrus Curd

Langues de Chat are dainty, crisp, French biscuits that are perfectly designed for dipping. I have flavoured mine with delicate and refreshing crushed fennel seeds and made a tangy curd to dip them in.

The great thing about pairing these biscuits with a curd is that you don't end up with a random egg yolk left over. I often have more uses for egg white than egg yolk, so usually have to think really hard to find a way to use them. In this case though, the biscuits and curd work in perfect harmony. The dip makes this an interactive treat that is begging to be shared.

I made the curd from a combination of lime, orange and clementine because I seemed to have every type of citrus in my fruit bowl except for lemons! It was a fortunate experiment though, because the result was absolutely delicious and worked really well with the fennel. Because of how well this turned out, I have kept the recipe fairly flexible and you can use whatever citrus you have to hand. It is not a true curd because I only had one egg yolk and therefore had to use some cornflour to help it thicken, but it is a lovely texture for dipping and makes enough for every biscuit to have a dunk.

This Langues de Chat recipe is my favourite type of recipe because everything is in equal quantities! Just adjust the amount of flour, sugar and butter to match the weight of the egg white for great results every time. I used a small amount of brown sugar for a slight caramelly note and an extra crisp biscuit, but you could also make these just with icing sugar to keep things simple.

*This recipe makes more than you think. I got more than 40 biscuits from this batch, but that will depend on the size and thickness of your piped lines.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

Saucepan

Juicer

Mixing Bowl

Electric Whisk

INGREDIENTS

Langues de Chat

80g Butter (cubed)

80g Flour

80g Sugar (60g Icing Sugar + 20g Brown Sugar OR 80g Icing Sugar)

80g Egg White

Big Pinch of Salt

1 Heaped Teaspoon of Fennel Seeds

Citrus Curd

140g Juice (I used the juice of one lime, orange and clementine)

1 tsp Zest (I used clementine zest)

20g Butter

1 Egg Yolk

1 Heaped Teaspoon Cornflour

Sugar to taste

1) Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Before you start, make sure your butter is at room temperature and your fennel seeds have been lightly crushed in a pestle and mortar (or bashed with the end of a rolling pin).

In a big bowl, whisk together the room temperature butter cubes and sugar until light and fluffy. Make sure the brown sugar has completely dissolved and that the mixture is not grainy.

2) Fold through the flour, salt and fennel seeds. Add the egg white, and lightly whisk the mixture again, being careful not to overwork the mixture. It will now be a soft and fluffy texture that can be piped onto a baking sheet.

3) Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a small nozzle, preferably no more than 1cm. Onto greaseproof paper or a reusable non-stick baking sheet, pipe 14 smooth lines between 7-10 cm long with space between them (- they will spread out into a thin finger when baking). The batter should hold its shape as a cylinder - if it starts spreading, chill the mixture for 10 minutes before trying again. Once piped, leave in the fridge for 15 minutes until they are firm to the touch. Unless you have a lot of fridge space and baking trays, you will need to do these in batches because the batter goes further than you think.

4) Bake for 10-14 minutes until the biscuits spread out and resemble a tuile with golden edges. They will be soft when they first come out of the oven, but should harden as they cool. If your biscuits are still soft when cool, put them back in the oven for a few minutes and add a bit of time on to your next batch.

5) To make the curd, add the ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk to combine. Warm on a gentle heat, stirring continuously until the mixture starts to thicken. Add sugar to taste and keep whisking. Do not let it boil, but make sure the cornflour is well cooked out. Leave it to cool in a small bowl with a layer of cling film directly across the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

6) Serve the curd and biscuits together and get dunking!