The Fairmont Empress’s pastry chef Gerald Tan plays on the traditional Dutch biscuit, sandwiching a sumptuous layer of banana caramel between the thin, delicately spiced cookies. Traditionally, they are shaped using intricate moulds, but here Tan has decorated them with chocolate discs and gold leaf. At home, you can leave them plain and they will still be delicious.
Makes 12 cookies
Speculaas cookies:
- 2 cups butter
- 1 cup (2 sticks) brown sugar
- 5¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 1 tsp salt
Banana caramel:
- 2¾ cup whipping cream
- ⅛ cup confectioner’s glucose or light corn syrup
- ½ cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups chopped milk chocolate
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup banana purée, about 1 large
Make the cookies: Place butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix for 1 minute at high speed, until pale and fluffy.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix just until combined.
Remove cookie dough from bowl, pat into a thick disc, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
Roll cookie dough to ¼-cm thick, then cut with a fluted ring cutter.
Place the cookies on a perforated silicone mat and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. (If you don’t have a silicone mat, use a parchment-lined baking sheet.) Cool completely.
Make the caramel: In a small pot over medium heat, warm the cream, glucose and butter until steaming (about 130°F). Turn off the heat, but keep the cream warm.
In a light-coloured, medium-sized saucepan, make a dry caramel with the sugar. Add the sugar to the pan, give it a shake and place over low to medium heat, allowing the sugar to melt. It will gradually turn golden brown — do not let it get too dark or it will be bitter.
Once the caramel turns a nice amber colour, slowly add in warm cream mixture in batches, whisking constantly and taking care to avoid splatters. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat, then add in milk chocolate, salt and banana purée. Remove from heat, then transfer to the fridge to chill completely.
Assembly: Transfer filling to a piping bag fitted with a round tip, then pipe about 1 tsp of the filling on each bottom cookie. Place another cookie on top to make a sandwich and press lightly.
If you like, decorate by drizzling little melted chocolate on top and adding a garnish of gold leaf.
Photo of Gerald Tan provided by Derek Ford