Michelle Darmody: How to make chocolate biscuit cake — and the mistakes to avoid

Pic: iStock

Perhaps the term bake is not fully correct here, the melting of the chocolate and the weighing and stirring of the sweet ingredients are aspects of baking, but without the cooking time at the end. 

Instead, this no-bake cake is popped into the fridge rather than the oven. It is a cake to make, rather than bake.

One of the beauties of a chocolate biscuit cake is that it can be made into any shape or form, once you have the correct tin. 

It is firm and solid when set, so can be used for things like making a chocolate wreath at Christmas, or a three-dimensional bunny for a birthday.

A popular variation is an Italian or Portuguese dessert called chocolate salami, or salame al cioccolato. 

For this, the biscuits are chopped into chunks, and the mixture is rolled into a sausage shape within baking parchment and then placed into the fridge. Chocolate salami can sometimes have port or rum added.

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

This no-bake-cake is popped into the fridge rather than the oven. It is a cake to make rather than bake.

Servings

15

Preparation Time

 3 hours 30 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 30 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 225g dark chocolate, broken into small even sized pieces

• 150g runny honey

• 275g soft butter

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 400g broken biscuits

• 40g dried apricots, chopped

• 40g golden raisins

• 40g dried cranberries

• 40g toasted hazelnuts, chopped

• 80g pecan nuts, chopped

Method

1. Line a 9-inch round cake tin with parchment. I use either a loose-based or spring-form tin.

2. Melt the chocolate, honey and butter in a heavy based saucepan over a low heat. They do not need to boil just gently melt into one another.

3. Stir the rest of the ingredients into the melted chocolate mixture until everything is coated.

4. Scoop the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth it out.

5. Set the tin aside until the cake cools to room temperature, then put it into the fridge to firm up.

6. When you are ready to serve the cake remove it from the fridge and turn it upside down onto a large flat plate. Open the tin or push out the base if it is a loose-based tin.

7. Gently peel off the baking parchment. You can decorate the cake with chocolate icing or ganache or serve it as is.

Baker's Tips

It is best not to let the butter, chocolate and honey bubble or boil as it will compromise the texture of the chocolate.

To get a nice smooth finish on the top of your cake tap it a few times on a countertop to get rid of any bubbles and to prevent any air pockets. 

You can also press the mixture down a few times while filling the tin, for example, scoop a third of the mixture into the tin and press this down then do the same with the next third and the last this will eliminate the bubbles. spread it out evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

Cutting the biscuits up more finely will create a smoother finish as well, as big lumps cause air pockets and bumps. You can ice the cake to make it more elegant for presentation.

It will take quite a few hours for the cake to firm up completely, so it is advisable to make it at least four hours before it is needed, or preferably the day before.

Let the cake sit out of the fridge to warm up slightly for about 30 minutes for easier slicing. Use a sharp knife dipped into boiling water for a nice, neat slice.

Not all biscuits are created equally, some will get a bit softer and soggier, and others will keep a crunch. I find biscuits like Rich Tea get very soggy, whereas a Gingernut or Digestives will be crunchier.

You can store the cake in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.

3 Delicious Variations

Coconut Almond Biscuit Cake

To make a coconut version you can add a mixture of dissected coconut and coconut flakes in place of the dried fruit and powdered ginger from the recipe. 

You can add chopped almonds in place of the hazelnuts and pecan nuts. 

You can also use amaretti biscuits that have a strong almond taste in place of some of the 400g of biscuits.

Sea Salt & Caramel Cake

Adding a handful of soft caramel sweets in place of the dried fruit and powdered ginger makes a nice variation. 

Wait for the mixture to cool a little so the sweets will not melt. 

You can also add a sprinkling of sea salt to either the top of the cake or add it to the mixture before scooping it into the tin. 

Almond also works well with caramel so you could vary the nuts as well.

Iced Chocolate Biscuit Cake

A chocolate icing will elevate the appearance of the cake. You can make ganache using 200ml of cream and 200g of small dark chocolate pieces gently melted together. 

A chocolate icing such as one made by melting 100g of dark chocolate and 25g of butter in a saucepan over a low heat, when they have melted, whisk in 50g of icing sugar and 75mls cream. 

Let this set until it cools and thickens but is still pourable. Spread this over the cooled cake.