Jump to content

Empire biscuit: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
TLK92 (talk | contribs)
this cookie is certainly not derived from the Linzer Torte, which is an altogether different kind of cake and not a cookie or biscuit at all. the author must have mixed it up with the Linzer Augen or Linzer Kekse
Line 23: Line 23:


==Ingredients==
==Ingredients==
The typical Empire Biscuit has a layer of [[jam]] in between two biscuits, typically shortbread. The top is covered with white water [[Icing (food)|icing]], usually decorated with a [[glace cherry]] in the centre, but Dew Drops are common too. They are derived from the [[Austria]]n [[Linzer Torte]].<ref>''Edmonds Classics'' Hachette Livre, 2005. pg. 25</ref> The biscuit is smaller than the Linzer Torte and does not have a cut-out section on the top.
The typical Empire Biscuit has a layer of [[jam]] in between two biscuits, typically shortbread. The top is covered with white water [[Icing (food)|icing]], usually decorated with a [[glace cherry]] in the centre, but Dew Drops are common too. They are derived from the [[Austria]]n [[:de:Linzer_Auge|Linzer Augen]],<ref>''Edmonds Classics'' Hachette Livre, 2005. pg. 25</ref> a similar shortbread cookie sandwich which has 1-3 small round cut outs (the "eyes") in the upper cookie and is dusted with powdered sugar. The empire biscuit does not have a cut-out section on the top and is decorated with white icing.


==Similar products==
==Similar products==

Revision as of 13:29, 3 July 2022

Empire biscuit
Alternative namesEmpire Cookie, Imperial biscuit; double biscuit, German biscuit, Linzer biscuit, Deutsch biscuit, Belgian biscuit, biscuit bun
TypeCookie
Place of originScotland
Main ingredientsBiscuits, jam in between two biscuits. The top is covered with white glace icing, usually decorated with a jelly sweet

An Empire biscuit (Imperial biscuit, Imperial cookie, double biscuit, German biscuit, Belgian biscuit, double shortbread, Empire cookie or biscuit bun) is a sweet biscuit eaten in Scotland, and other Commonwealth countries. It is popular in Northern Ireland, and it is an iconic dish in Winnipeg, Canada. [1]

History

Empire biscuit was originally known as the "Linzer biscuit", and later as the "Deutsch biscuit". With the outbreak of the First World War it was renamed in England to Empire biscuit and in Scotland to Belgian biscuit because Belgium had just been invaded, but in Northern Ireland it remains known as the German biscuit or biscuit bun. In Scotland the name now varies depending on the region, with the North-east typically calling it a double shortbread and the West an Empire biscuit.[citation needed] In Northern Ireland it is commonly found with a jam and coconut topping. It is also known as the "Belgian biscuit", due to being topped in a similar way to a Belgian bun, which is made of pastry or dough. There also exists a biscuit similar to the Jammie Dodger which is referred to as a Linzer biscuit.

Ingredients

The typical Empire Biscuit has a layer of jam in between two biscuits, typically shortbread. The top is covered with white water icing, usually decorated with a glace cherry in the centre, but Dew Drops are common too. They are derived from the Austrian Linzer Augen,[2] a similar shortbread cookie sandwich which has 1-3 small round cut outs (the "eyes") in the upper cookie and is dusted with powdered sugar. The empire biscuit does not have a cut-out section on the top and is decorated with white icing.

Similar products

Empire biscuits are similar to Viennese whirls.

New Zealand

A batch of Belgium biscuits

Known as a "Belgium" or as a "Belgian biscuit" in New Zealand, this type of biscuit gained popularity towards the end of the Great War and is now typically found either in biscuit or slice form. Typically, spiced biscuits are filled with raspberry jam and topped with pink or white icing, with raspberry jelly crystals scattered on top instead of the cherry. These are quite different to the Empire biscuit, which bears more similarity to a NZ 'Shrewsbury'.

See also

Other foods renamed for political reasons include:

References

  1. ^ "Traditional Scottish Recipes - Empire Biscuits". www.rampantscotland.com.
  2. ^ Edmonds Classics Hachette Livre, 2005. pg. 25