Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Yes, I got sucked into all the hooplah a little bit. Despite the ridiculousness of it all – $454,000 for a dress – more than our house cost – for someone who would look completely stunning in something from Old Navy? Oy.
But I saw this cake somewhere – it’s everywhere today – and loved that it was so… lowbrow. A big chocolate truffle filled with crunchy chunks of digestive biscuits that looks like stained glass or chocolate salami when sliced. If you love those chocolate covered digestive biscuits, multiply that by a thousand or so and you have this no-bake, no-cake cake. It takes about five minutes to assemble, then sets up in the fridge. If you can’t have the 10,000 ? wedding cake (more craziness!) you can easily have the groom’s cake. Considering the wedding cake itself was a fancy fruitcake covered with fondant, I’d choose the latter, anyway.
(Note: this is somewhat thinner than it would otherwise be – I dropped a dozen spoonfuls of the mixture into paper-lined mini muffin tins to bring on a three-tiered plate to BT this morning. The bite-sized versions were a hit, too.) Each click took me to a new version of this cake. This is how I did it. I’m tempted to replace the butter with peanut butter next time…
Chocolate Biscuit Cake
AuthorJulieLine an 8” round springform (or regular) pan with a piece of parchment in the bottom.
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over medium heat; once the butter has melted, stir in the chocolate and set aside for a few minutes. Stir until smooth.
Stir in the broken cookies and spread in the prepared pan. Refrigerate until firm.
If you like, dust with cocoa or icing sugar before cutting into thin wedges.
Ingredients
Directions
Line an 8” round springform (or regular) pan with a piece of parchment in the bottom.
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over medium heat; once the butter has melted, stir in the chocolate and set aside for a few minutes. Stir until smooth.
Stir in the broken cookies and spread in the prepared pan. Refrigerate until firm.
If you like, dust with cocoa or icing sugar before cutting into thin wedges.
Great fun! Thanks D)
the version I found: crush the package of rich tea biscuits, add in coconut and chopped glazed cherries, stir in 8 squares melted baking chocolate mixed with a can of sweetened condensed milk. put in freezer, then top with another 8 squares melted chocolate. I took a lot of kidding at work for making William’s cake, and then they started eating the cake (and asking for the recipe). My new go-to for Christmas dessert buffets I’m thinking…
Love the idea that PW had to order a cake for himself 🙂 I am Brit, but the whole saga just had me turning off all TVs and radios, and spending time with family instead today… waaaaayyy too much money lavished on a party for the already wealthy, yes, you can probably tell I am a republican through and through. Waste of taxpayer money when the UK is already suffering its worst recession… but all that aside, your cake looks amazing, and just what I like to eat.
I am tempted to replace the biscuits with Jaffa cakes (which are a kind of biscuit, go figure :-)) though, wonder where I can source some here?
I got sucked in and also made this cake! I followed a different recipe, but after we drank a couple bottles of champagne (in the middle of the day) my book club would have eaten anything covered in chocolate. Weddings are a huge waste of money…but I admit we did enjoy all the pomp and circumstance. I do prefer my cakes, baked and cakey, this was like a candy bar!
Canadian Living has a version that they call the “Queen’s Chocolate Biscuit Cake”; the ingredients are nearly identical to your’s except that they prepare it in a loaf pan and reserve some of the chocolate mixture to use as a ganache once the loaf is unmolded. While I wasn’t much interested in the Royal Wedding I like that the Prince included such simple, personal touches in amongst all that pomp and circumstance.
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/the_queens_chocolate_biscuit_cake.php
Yes – plenty of the versions covered the finished cake with chocolate ganache. Seemed kinda superfluous to me…
Michelle, I’ve found Jaffa Cakes at Superstore. I love them. They’d be amazing in a cake.
I guess the one consolation for all the expense is that it certainly got people spending money, so maybe the UK economy will enjoy a bit of a boost.
I now have to eat a chocolate digestive. Thanks. Maybe I’ll make this for my dad’s birthday. Hmm….
Thanks Fiona, I’ll check out the superstore. I love jaffa cakes. Any chance of a recipe, Julie 🙂
Divine. Shall make this for my own “Queen Mum” of the Red Hats. She would love this on Mothers Day!
I must say I did enjoy the fuss of the big day. I think she is a beautiful Duchess and they make a lovely couple. I remember watching his parent’s wed so many years ago, and I got my kids up to see it that morning, if nothing else but for the historical signifigance!! 🙂
Your recipes often find their way into our family traditions!
One of the “royal” television shows had the pastry chef demonstrating how he made this cake and the McVities biscuits were processed to the point where they resembled fine bread crumbs. Thank you for posting this recipe. I wasn’t sure how I was going to start looking for it.
Thanks for the recipe Julie. I made this for a dinner party last night and it was a hit! Yum! ANd such fun that it was a version of the groom’s cake. 🙂
i tried a version of this cake–made with sweetened condensed milk. it was good but very rich and kind of two dimensional. and the cost. wow! in the end, i think it cost between 15-20 dineros. i’d rather indulge in a cheesecake for that cost, i think.
Wow, that is pricey! Mine was small (it’s rich, so you don’t need much!) and didn’t cost as much – half a package of cookies, some butter, cream and chocolate chips. Not multidimensional to be sure, but everyone loved it!
I think we need the Brown Butter Hollandaise recipe PRONTO……………..
Thanks for the recipe! I haven’t tried it yet. I got caught up in the wedding, but I am a wedding officiant. I found it romantic and beautiful, I guess I just needed some feel good in spite of all the gloom and doom, but it was such a delight to watch Kate and William seem in love with each other. Thanks for sharing! Marla
I made this for a BBQ yesterday. It was SO easy and everyone loved it! It was surprisingly not too sweet. Mmmm…it’s OK to have dessert after breakfast, right?
You probably hear this a lot, but there are many, many times when I open this blog, and voila! A picture and recipe of whatever I was thinking about making or craving.
I loved the Royal Wedding!! I know it is a big waste of money, but it was so beautiful and sweet, and it really only happens every 30 years or so….I was looking for this recipe about a week ago, and could not find it anywhere – now it’s all over the place, thank you for posting, I will have to try it soon.
@Michelle, Jaffa cakes are available in Marks and Spencers, fyi.
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