Homemade Tennis Biscuits
A buttery coconut biscuit that’s as close to the real Tennis biscuits as you can get!
When I set out to create my own version of the good old Tennis biscuit, I figured I’d need one, maybe two tries to nail it. It’s the coconut biscuit we all grew up with – the one that is a vital part of our beloved peppermint crisp tart. How hard could it be? Um, quite hard actually. After hacking the ingredients from the nutritional info on the Tennis biscuit packet and 5 attempts later, I was on the verge of giving up. Getting that trademark texture and flavour is not as easy as it seems – the Baker’s Man really can!
It was attempt number 6 that I was finally happy with! This is the closest you are going to get with pantry ingredients and home appliances. I layered my homemade Tennis biscuits into this creamy semifreddo which is divine. Also try using them in my Peppermint Crisp Mousse Cake, or this Baked Lemon Meringue Pudding.
- 220g cake flour
- 85g icing sugar (I used Natura Sugars Demerara Icing Sugar)
- Pinch of salt
- 5ml (1 tsp) milk powder (optional)
- 5ml (1 tsp) baking powder
- 5ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
- 30g desiccated coconut
- 90g salted butter, melted
- 30g golden syrup
- 1 large egg, beaten
- To make the biscuit, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees fan-forced).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or by hand, combine all the dry ingredients together.
- In a separate bowl, combine the butter, syrup and egg together and pour into the dry ingredients with the mixer running on low until just combined.
- Roll the cookie dough between two sheets of clingwrap or baking paper to about 5mm thick. I've used clingwrap because the dough is quite sticky and crumbly and this way you can press it into a thin layer easily.
- Evenly slice into 7cm by 7cm squares and prick evenly using a fork.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until a lovely dark golden brown.
- Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.