Chocolate and ginger biscotti

Place the caster sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk, scraping down the side of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture is thick and pale, 2–3 minutes.

Place the flour, cocoa, salt, chocolate and ginger in a separate bowl and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients and the cooled melted butter to the whisked egg mixture and mix until a soft, sticky dough forms. Set the dough aside, covered in the bowl, somewhere cool for 15–30 minutes (in the fridge if the weather is hot) to firm up a little.

While the dough is resting, preheat oven to 170°C fan-forced and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. When rested, divide the mixture in two and roll each portion into a log about 22cm long.

Place the dough logs on the baking trays (1 per tray). Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until the surface of the logs is crackled and set. They will still be soft inside, but this is as it should be. Remove the trays from the oven and allow the biscuit logs to cool on the trays for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 150°C fan-forced.

Use a large, serrated knife to cut the logs into 1cm thick slices. Gently hold and squeeze the sides of the logs together as you cut, as the dough will be quite soft and crumbly at this point. Don’t worry if some of the edges crumble off as you are slicing, this to be expected, and we are going for rustically delicious, not perfect!

Use a palette knife to carefully place the sliced biscotti back on the trays and return to the oven for 15–18 minutes, turning them over after about 10 minutes, until the surface of the biscuits is dry. Let the biscotti cool completely on the trays before serving or storing.