By Keighley’s Mike Armstrong, an award-winning master baker with a big passion for baking...

AS you know by now, I'm a big fan of traditional baking, as well as the latest leaps of innovation we tend to see now and again.

The Empire biscuit is a particular favourite. It is a biscuit of two layers, that has had many names, so let's do some digging on the history of this double shortbread offering.

It seems that the Empire biscuit owes its origins to central Europe and, in particular, the Austria Linzer biscuit – named after the Austrian city of Linz.

Rather than plain shortbread, these biscuits were made with ground almonds, with the top layer cut out revealing the filling. That means the Linzer biscuit isn't just a forerunner of the Empire biscuit but also of the jammy dodger!

So where did the name Empire biscuit come from?

When the Empire biscuit started life in the UK it was originally known as the German biscuit, but the outbreak of the First World War meant all this changed.

Britain found itself facing Germany in the war, so German and Linzer biscuits all suddenly felt like unpatriotic names. Because of this (bear in mind this was still the time of the British Empire), the patriotic name of Empire biscuits was born.

The British Empire was responsible for many great misdemeanours, but it was also responsible for the creation of this grand old dame.

However, the term German biscuits still thrives in Northern Ireland to this day – it never made the leap to adopt the revised name.

Most sightings of the Empire biscuit are in the Scottish Borders because of the prevalence there of shortbread. If you are baking that fine shortbread biscuit, you might as well knock out some Empires too!

The Scots adopted this kid-friendly biscuit wholeheartedly; it's sandwiched together with jam and topped with icing and adorned with a glace cherry or soft jelly sweet.

Also, to add to the great name debate, this bake is popular in bakeries in Winnipeg, Canada, too where they are known as Imperial cookies. And the term Belgian biscuits has also appeared, because the gloriously thick coating of icing on top is reminiscent of a Belgian bun.

RECIPE

EMPIRE BISCUITS

Ingredients:

300g/11oz plain flour, sift

200g/7oz salted butter, softened

100g/4oz caster sugar

1 large egg, beaten

Strawberry or raspberry jam

180g/10oz icing sugar

Glace cherries or jelly sweets to decorate

Method:

1. Place the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat well till light and fluffy, then add the flour and egg and mix until you have a soft dough using your hands.

2. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness, then stamp out circles using a 3-inch serrated scone cutter.

3. Place your biscuits onto lined baking trays and bake in a preheated oven at 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4 for around 12 minutes or till light golden colour.

4. Allow to cool before spreading half the biscuits with jam, then sandwich the remaining biscuits on top.

5. Mix the icing with enough cold water to form a thick consistency before dipping the top of the biscuits into the icing.

6. Place half a cherry or jelly sweet in the middle of each biscuit and allow to set before eating.