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Royal Pastry Chef’s Spiced Easter Biscuits

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Ginger George

Ginger George

Introduction

Back in 2020, Queen Elizabeth’s royal pastry chefs released the family’s sacred ‘Spiced Easter Biscuits’ recipe. What better way to honour her late Majesty, than by baking these delightful and delicious Easter treats?

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Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F/gas mark 3 then mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices in a bowl. Add the diced butter and mix until it reaches a crumb-like texture.

2. Add the sugar, then once combined add the egg and golden syrup. Mix until a dough is formed.

3. Roll the dough to a thickness of 5mm then use biscuit cutters to cut into desired shape such as

Ingredients

Biscuit base:

• 350g plain flour

• 5g bicarbonate of soda

• 10g ground ginger

• 5g cinnamon

• 125g unsalted butter

• 175g light soft brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 60g golden syrup

Icing:

• 2 egg whites

• 600g icing sugar

• Food colouring of your choice

Easter eggs, chicks or bunnies. Place the biscuits on a non-stick mat or baking paper and bake on the middle shelf for 12-15 minutes until they are golden in colour. Leave biscuits to cool completely before decorating.

4. Add 1 egg white to 600g of icing sugar and beat until smooth. Spoon mixture into a piping bag - the icing should pipe smoothly and be able to hold when piped as a line – and pipe around the edge of the biscuits.

To cover all the biscuits with icing add extra egg white to thin the mixture. Decorate and enjoy!

What do you call a flock of sheep tumbling down a hill? A lambslide.

Crossword EGG

LAMB

BIBLE

CHICK

TULIP BASKET BONNET

EASTER RABBIT

SPRING

DAFFODIL

CHOCOLATE

HOT CROSS

BUN

Cadbury’s make 500 million Creme Eggs every year. If you piled them on top of each other, it would be 10 x higher than Mount Everest.

What proof is there that eating carrots is good for your eyesight? You don’t see rabbits wearing glasses do you?

Nearly one in five people (17.5%) aged 55 and over have been the victim of a financial scam, according to findings by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Scammers often target people who are more vulnerable because they aren’t necessarily working fulltime, or are partially or fully retired.

The Financial Conduct Authority has an informative section on its website – www.fca.org. uk/scamsmart – giving advice on how to avoid both pension and investment scams, a list of the most-searched-for investment and pension scams, plus a useful link if you’ve been contacted about a scam or paid money to fraudsters.

Report Scams

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Help Protect Yourself

• Protect your PIN and OTP

Never share your PIN or one-time passcode (OTP), or indeed your password.

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• Don’t be pressured

Fraudsters will try to put you under pressure to act quickly. Don’t let anyone rush you – always take a moment before you share any details and only click on a link when you know it’s 100% legitimate.

Trending Scams

The ‘friend in need’ text

You’ll receive a text or WhatsApp message (from an unknown number) supposedly from someone you know, saying that they have a crisis and asking you to transfer money across to them.

Pension review scam

You’re contacted and offered a free pension review. The supposed financial adviser will recommend that you move your money into another scheme or fake investments.

Suspicious activity on your account

Your ‘bank’ calls to say there’s been suspicious activity on your account. They will attempt to obtain your private, sensitive information, such as banking details, PINs and passwords, supposedly to confirm your identity. They might also suggest your move your cash to a new account which you think is yours but isn’t.

Energy-related scams

Scammers pose as a major supplier and announce in an email that you are entitled to a refund on your energy bills because of a ‘miscalculation’. They then give you a link to click to provide your payment details.

In case you haven’t heard, it’s a jobseeker’s market at the moment, with many employers saying recruitment has never been more difficult.

Lower skilled jobs with a higher turnover of staff are where most of the vacancies are. Waiting staff, retail assistants and general administrators could find other openings easily, although they aren’t necessarily going to see a big increase in salary.

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The buzz If you are an introvert, a small company where you work in a quiet office with just one or two people will be ideal. But if you are outgoing or young and hoping for a bit of a work-hard, play-hard environment, seriously question whether you are going to get that in any opportunities you chase. You spend a lot of time at work, so the business ethos has to suit you.

Benefits There might be tangible financial benefits such as a bonus, a good pension scheme and private health cover. But equally, extra holiday, work-fromhome days, onsite parking, an early finish on a Friday or an air-conditioned office with a view could be the clincher for you.

It’s a no Make a list of absolutely-no-way terms before you waste your time and theirs going for an interview.

Finally don’t talk yourself into accepting the first offer if it’s not suitable, just because you are unhappy where you are. With plenty of vacancies out there, hold your nerve and find the right fit.

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