Easter No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake

There has been a constant flow of Easter cakes, bakes and puddings in the food magazines over the past month. This leaves me with a long list of recipes to try, however in reality, the four days off over this bank holiday weekend has soon become jam-packed with friends, family and entertaining. This chocolate biscuit cake is one that can be quickly whipped up when you have people dropping in throughout the weekend- a very useful biscuit tin filler. My sister is keenly waiting at the fridge door to tuck into this chocolate biscuit cake after her chocolate-free Lent, I however tucked in as soon as they had been photographed!

There are many variations of chocolate biscuit cake but this simple recipe is straightforward and quick to make. You can experiment with the type of biscuit you use- personally I think the crunch of the Rich Tea biscuits are a cut above adding crumbly digestives. A selection of dried fruits or nuts could also add a nice twist to the recipe!

To Make Approx 20 Pieces You Will Need...

-400g Rich Tea biscuits 

-220g butter

- 85g caster sugar

-2 eggs

-2 tbsps drinking chocolate powder

-2 tsps cocoa powder

-2 tbsps golden syrup 

-100g milk chocolate

You will need to...

- Line a baking tray with cling film, I used one that was 28cm x 18cm.

-Put the biscuits into a sandwich bag- sometimes I use two to avoid holes in the bag, and crush using a rolling pin.

- Melt the butter and sugar in a pan over a low heat, remove from the heat and stir in the drinking chocolate, cocoa powder and golden syrup.

- In a small bowl, beat the eggs. 

- Pour the chocolate butter mixture into a large mixing bowl, stir in the crushed biscuits and the beaten eggs. Mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is all incorporated. 

- Spread the mixture out evenly in the baking tray.

- In a small saucepan, heat some water and place a pyrex bowl over it to make a Bain Marie, break the milk chocolate into the bowl and stir occasionally until melted. 

- Pour the melted chocoalte over the biscuit mix in the baking tray and spread out using a spatula. 

- Place in the fridge or freezer for a few hours until set, or over night. 

Happy Easter 

Z x

Rhubarb Crumble Ice Cream

Perhaps it is not quite hot enough to be sitting outside in the sun with an ice cream,  but this Rhubarb Crumble Ice Cream is a great 'prepare ahead' pudding when served with ginger biscuits - perfect if you are feeding family and friends over the approaching four day Easter weekend! It is a Delia recipe and a firm family favourite. This is an ice cream with a seasonal twist, ideal if you have rhubarb growing in the garden - I was lucky enough to use homegrown, but shop-bought works just as well.

To sever 6-8 you will need...

For the ice cream

450g trimmed rhubarb

425 ml whipping cream

225g sugar

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

For the crumble

75g plain white flour

50g butter

50g light brown muscovado sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

You will need to...

-Preheat the oven to 190C.

-To make the crumble, combine all crumble ingredients in a bowl with your hands until the  flour and butter combine to form small balls of dough. Sprinkle evenly over a baking tray and leave to one side.

-Cut the rhubarb into 1cm pieces and place in a separate large baking tray, sprinkle the sugar and lemon juice over the rhubarb and place on the lower shelf in the oven, put the tray with the crumble on the shelf above.

-Bake the crumble for 10 mins, then remove and put aside to cool, the rhubarb will need 15-20 mins to cook until tender. Leave the rhubarb to cool before pouring into a food processor, blitz until you have a smooth puree, then pour it into a measuring jug, cover and transfer to the fridge to chill.

-Now break the crumble into small pea sized pieces (if they are too big, the pieces are unwieldy to eat in the ice cream, if they are too small they disappear). 

-Using an electric whisk whip the cream until soft peaks, then stir in the rhubarb puree, pour into a 2 litre Tupperware and place in the freezer for 3-4 hours.

-After this time remove the ice cream from the freezer, whisk again and then stir in the crumble pieces before it is totally frozen, return to the freezer until ready to serve.

Serve with ginger biscuits and enjoy!

Z x

Ginger, Apricot & Chocolate Spelt Cookies

These sweet little cookies are perfect for spring - fresh, fiery and fruity. This recipe is based on Heidi Swanson's Ginger Cookie recipe from her brilliant book Eat Natural Every Day, although I've adjusted a couple of the more obscure ingredients slightly to make them more student-friendly. The combination of flavours may sound a bit intense, but surprisingly they work really well together - with the fiery ginger, fruity apricot and bitter chocolate balancing each other out. The spelt flour gives the cookies a nutty, earthy flavour which tones down the sweetness too, and also makes them a little more dense and filling than your bog-standard biscuit - they're kind of like posh gingernuts. Enjoy fresh from the oven with a mug of something warm and comforting. 

To make approx. 30 small cookies you will need...

35g demerara sugar

85g dark chocolate, finely chopped

115g spelt or wholemeal flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 heaped tsp ground ginger

A pinch of salt

60g butter

30ml black treacle

50g caster sugar

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 small egg, beaten

85g dried apricots, finely chopped 

You will need to...

- Put the demerara sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Chop your chocolate and apricots finely.

- Heat the butter in a medium sized saucepan until just melting, then stir in the treacle, caster sugar and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm but not hot. Add in the beaten egg, then the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and ground ginger - mix well. 

- Stir in the apricots and chocolate. 

- Chill the mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes, until it firms up a bit.

- Preheat the oven to 180C and line two trays with baking paper.

- Scoop the dough out in level tablespoons, then tear those pieces of dough in two and roll each piece into a ball.

- Drop the little balls one-by-one into the bowl of demerara sugar and roll around until the outside is well covered in sugar crystals. 

- Place the sugary balls onto the prepared trays, leaving plenty of space between them to allow for spreading. 

- Bake in the oven for 7 - 10 minutes, until the cookies have puffed up a little and are dark, fragrant and cracked on top. They will still be a little soft so allow to firm up a bit on the tray before serving.

Enjoy! C x