Since opening in Sydney’s Surry Hills in 2004, Bourke Street Bakery has become a stalwart of all things bread, tart and slice.
Its imaginative spins on sausage rolls (including eggplant, chickpea, feta and mint; pork and fennel; and lamb, almond and harissa) have gained fans across the city and beyond (including in New York, where it opened to long crowds), while its ginger brulee tarts have garnered a cult following.
The bakery has also put a spin on the classic Anzac biscuit, adding an unusual ingredient to the classic oat-syrup-and-butter combination: barberries. You can buy barberries from Middle Eastern groceries and other specialist stores such as The Essential Ingredient (you can substitute them for another tart, dried fruit such as cranberries, sour cherries, goji berries, mulberries and currants).
“The dried barberries in this recipe [are] plumped up in hot water [and] add a slightly different twist to the classic Australian Anzac biscuit,” says Bourke Street’s co-founder David McGuinness.
“Barberries are a small red berry similar to a red currant used in Persian and Middle Eastern cuisines; they have a slightly acidic flavour. The barberries can be omitted. At the bakery we press [the biscuits] down to make them thin.”
“Nearly” Anzac Biscuits
Makes 12 biscuits
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15–20 minutes
Ingredients
160g rolled oats
220g plain flour
175g brown sugar
100g shredded coconut
185g butter
60g golden syrup
60ml water
1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
To plump barberries
50g barberries
45ml boiling water
35g brown sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 175°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Mix the oats, flour, brown sugar and coconut together in a bowl.
Place the barberries in a bowl with boiling water and brown sugar. Stir a little to dissolve the sugar.
Gently melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan and add the barberry mix. Combine the water and bicarbonate of soda in a medium-sized bowl and stir into the butter, golden syrup and barberry mixture until foaming.
Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients while still foaming. Mix together with a large spoon.
Divide mixture into 12. Roll into balls and place on the lined baking tray. Squash the cookies down into very thin rounds using a thin metal spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes.
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