Zakk Wylde: Spoke in the Pinwheel

Being a guitar great doesn't always equate to mainstream notoriety – but it does mean having a widespread influence and huge respect among heavy metal musicians and fans alike. As Ozzy’s on/off guitarist since 1987 and the brains behind the brilliant Black Label Society, they don’t come much greater than Zakk Wylde.

Spoke in the Wheel isn't exactly packed with Zakk's signature riffs, but it's the perfect namesake for this baked dedication. For one thing, pinwheels are the closest cookies get to a Zakk Wylde bullseye Les Paul. But most importantly, just like the man, they are an all-American mainstay with enormous appeal and well-deserved longevity. 

Keep the dough in the freezer, and you've got the perfect sweet standby – just slice and bake as needed. We shot these in my very own Concrete Jungle (or as I like to call it, the garden). 

Stripped of your pride like you were never nothing special...

Made to feel...

Like another spoke in the wheel. 

Spoke in the Pinwheels

(Makes about 36)

• plain flour  400g
• salt  1 tsp
• baking powder  1 tsp
• unsalted butter  230g, softened
• caster sugar  200g
• eggs  2
• peppermint extract  1 tbsp, or to taste
• cocoa powder  30g

1. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder, then in a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until combined.
2. Add the flour mix and stir to a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half, then add the cocoa to one, and the peppermint extract to the other. Taste the peppermint dough to check the flavour, then add more extract if needed. Chill the doughs for 30 minutes.
3. Once chilled, roll both doughs out to £1-coin thickness, then put the peppermint dough on top of the chocolate dough, and press the edges together. Roll into a log as tightly as you can, cover in greaseproof paper then put in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up (or freeze until needed).
4. Heat the oven to 180C/gas 5. Slice the dough into 2cm rounds, then put on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake for about 10 minutes, until the peppermint dough is very lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Metallica: Enter Pecan Sandmans

However inevitable, it's always a tragedy when a good bake goes bad at the hands of its own popularity. We've all seen what roadside services, chain bakeries and supermarkets have done to Victoria sponges, blueberry muffins and their over-blown, sickly, synthetic friends. 

Take shortbread – a stalwart of the biscuit world, so simple, undeniably classic and at the heart of many recipes that have taken on more extravagant themes. While its range stretches from Michelin-starred dessert menus to your Grandma's house, all too often it comes in tweed-themed wrappers with a cup of tea that looks like it's been poured straight from the drip tray. But hey, given the sales figures, clearly one woman’s bastardised recipe is another’s yardstick of success. 

So how does this play out in the world of metal? To my mind, it’s in the form of Metallica. In the way that there is no simple answer to ‘do you like cupcakes?’, the question ‘are you a Metallica fan?’ elicits a similarly hesitant response. While they may now be more big money than big four,  Kill 'em All, Ride the Lighting, Master of Puppets and …And Justice for All didn't so much make an impact as establish a new horizon on the heavy metal landscape. But with their fifth release, the so-called 'black' album, came the beginning of a departure from their thrash roots to a more palatable, commercially viable sound. However ‘metal’ it might have been to the new fans that got them to the top of the Billboard charts, many of those loyal from ’83 were left hoping for a return to the days of Seek and Destroy, but that became less and less likely with each new release. 

That's not to say that widespread appreciation is misguided – look around any rock club when Enter Sandman comes on, and I’d wager that 90% of the crowd are singing along. With that in mind, I decided to risk adapting a classic biscuit with a few crowd-pleasing flavours for my Metallica bake. This recipe is a combination of my Grandmother's brief, handwritten note on the subject of shortbread in her recipe scrapbook (method reads: 'put it in the oven for a bit, then see what you think'), the basics of a pecan sandie, and a few of my own ideas. I decided to add ground almonds to make a less sandy dough, and a few drops of orange essence and some grated orange zest to balance the richness. After chilling, I rolled the dough in finely chopped pecans to pep up the crunch. 

So this is my tribute to the ‘black’ album – my Grandma might be left wondering why I felt the need to alter the beloved 6oz-4oz-2oz ratio, but there’s no denying the popularity that a few on-trend flavours can bring. 

Exit light...

Enter night...

Take my hand...

...we're off to Never Never Land.

Enter Pecan Sandmans 

(Makes 24)

unsalted butter  115g, room temperature

caster sugar  55g

plain flour  130g

ground almonds  40g

salt  a pinch

orange essence  2 tsp

orange zest  2 tsp

pecans  100g, finely chopped

1. Heat the oven to 180C/gas 5. Beat the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon, then add the flour, almonds and salt. Add orange essence and orange zest to taste, then shape into a long sausage. Wrap in clingfilm and roll until evenly shaped. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes. 
2. Unwrap the dough and roll in the chopped pecans until evenly covered, then slice into 2cm-thick rounds (it's important to chill the dough so the rounds hold their shape). Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned – keep an eye on them to make sure the pecans don't burn. Cool on a wire rack.

Ginger Baker Creams

A post about Ginger Baker will hardly come as a shock. Even as a member of Cream, he was really asking for it, but with a name – and a career – like his, it's only right to have a whole post to himself.

Baker's unique style undeniably shaped the emerging sound of heavy metal drumming, fusing modern jazz techniques with a passionate, intense and at times aggressive diversion from the world of 60s 4/4 pop. The influence of Ginger's work with Cream and Blind Faith can be heard in the music of greats such as John Bonham and Bill Ward; but his reputation as one of the first 'wild men of rock' has also endured. Several solo albums, wives, tax evasions and years of serious addiction to the brown stuff later, Ginger now lives the life of a recluse in South Africa. But if the recent documentary Beware of Mr Baker is anything to go by, he's not lost any of that notoriously fiery attitude. 

So how can baking represent a man of such magnitude?

In the land of biscuits – and drums – quite simply, two are better than one, as the sound of Baker's double bass drum set up will testify. Although fresh cream might have been a more suitable filling, I've gone with a rich white chocolate buttercream. As for the biscuits themselves, they are inevitably packed full of ginger, with a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon to offset the sweet filling, and given a more chewy texture by the addition of rolled oats. 

A Ginger Baker, whichever way you look at it, is a creature of some pretty impressive substance. 

Ginger Bakers

(Makes 16)

• vegetable oil  160ml
• golden caster sugar  200g
• egg  1 large
• black treacle  3½ tbsp
• plain flour  200g
• rolled oats  200g
• bicarbonate of soda  2 tsp
• ground cinnamon  1 tsp
• ground ginger  2 tsp
• ground cloves ½ tsp
• soft light brown sugar  2 tbsp
• white chocolate  100g
• unsalted butter 140g, softened
• icing sugar  140g

1. Heat the oven to 180C/gas 6. Mix the oil and sugar, add the egg, stir to combine then  add the black treacle, plain flour, oats, bicarbonate of soda and the spices. 
2. Mix to a firm dough, then divide into roughly 32 pieces, depending on how small or large you want the biscuits to be. Roll into balls, then flatten into circles on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with soft light brown sugar then bake for 10-12 minutes until a dark golden colour, then cool on a wire rack. 
3. While the biscuits are cooling, make the buttercream. Melt the white chocolate over a pan of simmering water, then cool a little. With mix the butter and sugar with electric beaters (adding the sugar bit by bit), then slowly incorporate the white chocolate. 
4. Assemble the biscuits by piping buttercream around the outer edge of one, then sandwiching with another biscuit. 

Could fill spoons full of coffee...

...Could fill spoons full of tea...

...Just a little spoon of your precious love, is that enough for me?