Surely there must be some mistake, I thought. ‘This can’t be right,’ I muttered. I rubbed my eyes, blinking at the instructions once more. But when do I sous-vide the biscuit dough? And where does the liquid nitrogen come in? Where is the molecular gastronomy in this recipe? But it seems it was all true, the preparation of these new ‘Heston’ bake-your-own biscuits was, believe it or not, simple.
Straight from the freezer, I plonked them on a baking tray (they’re already shaped into 12 biscuity coins) and shoved them in the oven for 15 minutes. And, as Heston probably wouldn’t say, voila!
They were a touch too crumbly for me, but I imagine crumbliness is probably a fairly personal taste anyway, so it won’t bother everyone. And the flavours were good; I even liked the marzipan and almond when normally I’m most definitely a marzipan-avoider, chewing the icing around a cake if I get a sniff of the evil stuff. Chocolate and caraway were interesting too, while I didn’t get to try the third flavour, olive oil and vanilla.
As for Heston’s name-lending, I’ve never rested entirely easy with the idea. My thoughts are chefs should be in the kitchen and not off stamping their names on all and sundry. But then again, if you believe in a product, why not? Never a baker myself, these biscuits were even easy enough for me and perfect for a last minute, surprise visit or just a treat for a Friday night. And all without a bottle of liquid nitrogen in sight.
Heston from Waitrose 12 Ready to Bake Chocolate Chip & Caraway, Olive Oil & Vanilla or Almond & Marzipan Biscuits £3.79