Fox's Party Rings: how the feathered icing works

A Party Ring is a biscuit first and a sweet second: the icing is a thin hard skin across one face, not half the mouthful. Fox's has made them since 1983, and that ratio of biscuit to icing is what decides how to serve, dunk and pair them.

A plain biscuit under a glassy lid

Most of every ring is the biscuit itself, a short, dry bake that sits nearer to a plain shortcake than to anything soft or chewy. Across the top runs one layer of icing that dries hard, so the first thing you get is a crack and then sugar that melts away almost at once. Because that layer is thin, the sweetness stays moderate and the ring eats like a biscuit finished with something sweet, not the other way round.

The published ingredient list holds few surprises. Wheat flour, sugar, palm oil and glucose syrup lead it, and further down come concentrates of radish, safflower, apple, carrot, blackcurrant and hibiscus, which sits comfortably with Fox's own account that Party Rings are made without artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. The allergens named for this barcode are wheat (gluten) and soya.

Why the feathering and the hole matter

The pattern is a piece of technique, not a print. Two colours of icing go on while still wet and are drawn through each other, so one bleeds into the other in those familiar arcs, and once the surface hardens the design is locked in place. That is why no two rings look quite alike, and why the top survives a packet and a journey without smudging.

The hole earns its place too. A ring has more edge for its weight than a disc, which lets a thin biscuit bake through evenly and crisp up right across instead of keeping a soft middle. The shape also builds in a narrow weak point, so a Party Ring breaks cleanly in two instead of scattering crumbs, and it is the reason generations of children have worn them on their fingers.

Serving, dunking and the right cup

Treat dunking as a one-second job for the plain underside only. The icing dissolves the moment it meets hot tea, so a full dip strips the pattern off and sweetens the mug, while the biscuit beneath would have lasted far longer. Most of the time they are better eaten beside the cup, which is also how they look their best on a plate.

Since the sugar is spread thin and the biscuit is plain, a very strong brew simply flattens them. We would pour a medium black tea, steeped for around three minutes, with or without milk. The classic pack is the one to tip into a bowl for a party table; for lunchboxes and small hands, the mini snack bags in the same range are the handier choice.

The packs we stock

• Fox's Party Rings Biscuits, 125g (barcode 5010035002486)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Fox's Party Rings Biscuits, 125g (barcode 5010035002486) says it contains wheat (gluten) and soya. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Palm Oil, Glucose Syrup, Salt, Raising Agents: Ammonium Bicarbonates, Sodium Bicarbonates, Disodium Diphosphates; Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Hydrolysed Wheat Gluten, Concentrates (Radish, Safflower, Apple, Carrot, Blackcurrant, Hibiscus), Flavouring, Emulsifiers: Lecithins, Soy Lecithin; Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid; Vegetable Glycerine.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• Yorkshire Tea Original Everyday Blend, 80 Tea Bags 250g: Brewed a little shorter than usual, this everyday blend gives the medium, rounded cup that lets the plain biscuit and the thin icing both come through.
• Yorkshire Tea Cherry Bakewell Brew, 40 Tea Bags 112g: A bakery-themed black tea that matches the party-table mood of an iced ring when you want a pot with a bit of fun in it.
• Twinings English Breakfast Decaffeinated 40, 109g: A decaffeinated English Breakfast for a late-afternoon party, when the grown-ups still want a proper cup of tea.
• Dragonfly Organic Pure Rooibos, 40 Tea Bags 100g: A gentle rooibos for anyone at the table who would rather skip black tea altogether.

Elsewhere in the Fox's range

• Fox's Biscuits Chocolatey Biscuit Selection, 355g
• Fox's Biscuits Chocolatey Cookies Assortment, 365g
• Fox's Biscuits Classic Biscuit Selection, 275g
• Fox's Biscuits Jam 'n' Cream Raspberry & Vanilla Biscuits, 150g
• Fox's Biscuits Milk Chocolate Viennese, 120g
• Fox's Biscuits Rocky Caramel Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 Pack 136.5g

The full range is on the Fox's brand page.

FAQ

How is the pattern on a Party Ring made? Two colours of icing go on wet and are pulled through one another before either sets, which feathers one colour into the other.

Can you dunk a Party Ring? Only for a second, and only the plain side. Hot tea dissolves the icing far faster than it softens the biscuit.

What allergens do Fox's Party Rings contain? The published ingredient list for this barcode names wheat (gluten) and soya. Check the pack in your hands, as recipes can change.

When did Fox's launch Party Rings? In 1983, and the pastel iced ring has been a fixture of the British party table since.

What tea goes best with Party Rings? A medium black tea, brewed for about three minutes. A very strong cup buries the plain biscuit underneath.

Curator's note: Put a plate out for the adults as well as the children. They are more biscuit than they look, and a gentle cup lets you notice it. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Fox's Party Rings: how the feathered icing works

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles

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