Receiving a sweet little thing with my coffee is just as important as the coffee itself; a small bite to complement the flavours of the brew. The biscotti is both sugary and nutty in taste, and its strong feature is without doubt the crunchiness. It’s also an easy type of biscuit to keep in your pantry as it stays crisp for a long time. At Café Bautier, this is now the coffee companion.

Ingredients

250g almonds
300g flour
200g sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg
20g honey
1/2 tsp vanilla seeds
85g butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Spread almonds onto baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Place flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Break the eggs into the well and add honey, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk together, slowly incorporating part of the dry ingredients. Before the dry ingredients are completely mixed in, switch to a wooden spoon or clean hands to finish incorporating the dry ingredients. As the mixture starts to come together add the almonds.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Roll each portion into a 20cm log.

Place logs onto a lined baking tray and and bake 22 minutes until browned. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking tray for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 150°C. While still warm, cut each log into 12 slices (best using a bread knife). Arrange cut side up, onto the lined baking tray and return to the oven for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.