Chocolate Biscuit Cake with Maltesers

Chocolate biscuit Cake sounds like one of those things that is easy to make…and yes, it is; you basically bash some biscuits around, and then add some melted chocolate, stick it in a tin and allow some time for it to firm up – what could be easier? There is no baking involved and no complex procedures or processes. However, I think that chocolate biscuit cake perfectly illustrates one of my fundamental beliefs regarding food which is that the better the ingredients you use, the better the taste of the finished product.

Chocolate biscuit cake very much relies on the quality of the ingredients used and, as such, I believe that you must use a good chocolate, real butter and strike the right balance with the biscuits you choose to include. Many chocolate biscuit cakes use only Digestives but I like to use a selection; Digestives, Rich Tea, Malted Milk and Bourbon Creams. The key to a good biscuit cake is to avoid bashing up the biscuits too enthusiastically so that they become a crumb. I feel that you need to leave a good few chunks so that you retain some texture as opposed to a mealy biscuits mush. Although this tastes pleasant it doesn’t have the biscuity crunch that I believe is mandatory in a biscuit cake.

I have made chocolate biscuit cakes which include condensed milk, and others which don’t. Personally, I prefer to leave it out as it creates a more fudge-like grainy end result. I do like to add a couple of tablespoons of golden syrup because this prevents the biscuit cake from becoming over-firm. I will concede that adding golden syrup also increases the sweetness levels of the finished cake, but this cake is meant to be sweet and rich and not intended to be eaten in large quantities in one sitting.I have decorated the top of the biscuit cake pictured with Maltesers, because I love the look of them all lined up and also because I love the malty crispy crunch of these sweets. This is easy and quick to make and a lasts for ages, stored in an air-tight tin in a cool place. You can store it in the fridge but this can cause the chocolate to ‘bloom’.

 

Ingredients:

220g butter
450g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

220g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

4tblsp golden syrup

450g broken biscuits (I use equal amounts of Digestives, Rich Tea, Malted Milk and Bourbon Creams)

To finish:

50g milk chocolate melted

75g Maltesers
 

Method:

1. Line a 20-23cm square tin with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.
2. Place the butter and chocolates in a large bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir the butter/chocolate mixture occasionally until it has full melted and then remove the bowl.
3. Stir in the golden syrup making sure that it is fully incorporated and then mix in the biscuits making sure that they are well covered with the melted chocolate mixture.

4. Empty the biscuit mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of a metal spoon. Set aside in a cool place for ten minutes to firm up slightly.

To finish:

5. Pour the melted milk chocolate on top of the chocolate biscuit cake in the tin and then arrange the Maltesers on top embedding them in the melted chocolate covering. Set aside in a cool place for a few hours to firm up.

6. Serve, cut into small slices.

Serves 12-18.