Baking For Beginners: Brazilian Wedding Biscuits

So apparently the competition I will always call Fifa 96 is back for another summer, and this time it's in Brazil. I have been banned from the living room whenever a match is on, because I tend to say things like "why don't all the men on the winning side simply stand in the goal for the rest of the match to stop the other team scoring?" I think this is a valid point.

So to celebrate the World Cup / console ourselves that the telly schedules are all out of whack, let's get our bake on. These biscuits are light, soft and sandwiched together with dulce de leche for a delicious treat that's traditionally eaten as dessert or handed out as favours at Brazilian weddings. The biscuits represent the couple, and the dulce de leche represents the love that holds them together. Mmm, delicious caramel love.

Brazilian Wedding Biscuits (makes 30 biscuits, i.e. 15 finished wedding biscuits)
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes

You will need:

• 4 eggs
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tin of dulce de leche / caramel (find it in the baking aisle)

Make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.  Line two large trays with baking paper.
2. Separate the eggs, keeping the yolks in a separate bowl while you beat the egg whites and sugar to soft peaks. Beat in the yolks and the vanilla essence.
3. Sift in the flour baking powder and gently fold in until well combined.
4. Spoon out 15 even sized blobs of the biscuit mix onto your first tray. You can draw circles if you want them to be precise, otherwise a dessertspoon works fine.
5. Add the cocoa to the remaining mixture and fold in. Spoon out another 15 blobs onto the second tray.
6. Bake for 8 minutes, until the plain biscuits are golden brown and they're all slightly risen. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
7. Once completely cool, spoon a heaped teaspoon of dulce de leche onto a plain biscuit, top with a chocolate one, and press gently together. Continue until you have 15 amazing biscuits in front of you. 
8. Put the kettle on, accidentally eat 8 of them in one sitting.