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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a pastry brush to coat a large baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of softened butter and then coat the handle of a long wooden spoon with another tablespoon of butter. Set aside.
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2. In a heavy 10-to 12-inch skillet, bring 4 tablespoons of the butter, 1/3 cup of sugar and the syrup to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
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3. Remove the pan from the heat. With a large spoon gradually beat in the flour, ginger, brandy and lemon peel. Continue to beat until smooth. Let cool slightly for 2 or 3 minutes.
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4. Drop the batter by the teaspoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 4 inches apart. Bake in the middle of the oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the cookies have spread into 3- to 4-inch rounds and have turned a golden brown.
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5. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let it stand on a rack for 1 or 2 minutes, or until the cookies hold their shape when a spatula is slipped under them. If the cookies cool too much, they will harden and it will be difficult to shape them.
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6. Working quickly, remove one cookie at a time with a metal spatula and roll it into a tube around the butter-coated handle of the spoon. Slide the tube off the handle onto a cake rack and proceed in the same fashion with the other cookies. Use the remaining butter to keep the spoon handle coated.
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7. Just before serving, beat the cream in a chilled bowl with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater until it thickens slightly. Add ¼ cup of sugar and continue to beat until the cream forms stiff peaks on the beater when it is lifted out of the bowl.
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8. With a rubber spatula, gently but thoroughly fold in the brandy. Fill a pastry bag with the brandied cream and pipe it into the brandy snaps. Serve at once.
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