Creating something sweet that the family will love doesn't necessarily mean heating up the kitchen when the warm weather comes. Simple bites like this Chocolate Tiffin Cake help you to keep your cool and are real family pleasers! I think I read somewhere that this was Prince William's and Prince Harry's favorite cake. In fact I think it was actually served at Prince William's wedding, so not only is it delicious but its Royalty worthy!
Chocolate Tiffin is a kind of refrigerator cake which is made from a simple sweet chocolate base into which broken biscuits and dried fruit are stirred. Its then pressed into a cake tin, and a quantity of melted milk chocolate is poured over top. In this case I sprinkled some chocolate smarties on top because chocolate is notoriously difficult to photograph!
It usually looks quite unappealing without a lot of editing. These photos are un-edited, except for cropping, so the smarties did their job . . . however, it is not really normal or necessary to have additional candy on top of the cake.
However attractive it might be, although for a children's party it would be quite acceptable and probably very welcome!
They were rather difficult to cut through however, and mostly shattered when I did my cuts, so . . . there you go. Did you know orange smarties taste like orange??? They do! I don't think any of the others have any flavor other than tasting like smarties however, but could be wrong.
This cake is really easy to make. I think the hardest part is waiting for it to be ready to eat. You need to leave it in the refrigerator for at least an hour prior to cutting, so that it sets properly, and I actually think its even better, and cuts easier if you leave it longer than that.
It uses Digestives, the North American Equivalent would be Graham Crackers I think, but any plain biscuit/cookie would work. You want one that crumbles easily.
And you want to vary the texture of the cake by making some of the cookies into small crumbles, and crumbs and leaving other bits in larger pieces.
Other than graham crackers some other North American choices might be Social Tea, short breads, or plain sugar cookies. You don't want anything with a really strong flavor. Just crunchy and sweet! This is a very sweet cake without the biscuits being overly sweet, unless you like that sort of thing. Single layer biscuits work best. I used a selection of large seedless raisins for mine. There were red, gold and dark brown and they were quite large as compared to other raisins. You can also add cherries if you like.
*Simple Chocolate Tiffin*Serves 8Printable Recipe
This is quick easy and delicious. A great way to make a treat for your family without heating up the kitchen too much! Said to be the two Royal Princes' favorite cake!
100g butter, melted (7 TBS)25g soft light brown sugar (2 TBS)4 TBS golden syrup3 TBS cocoa powder (not drink mix)225g digestive biscuits, crumbled (2 1/2 cups, can use graham crackers)150g raisins (1 cup)225g milk chocolate, melted (8 ounces)
Butter an 8 inch square pan well. Set aside. Melt the butter together with the brown sugar, golden syrup, and cocoa powder, until the sugar has melted and the mixture doesn't feel gritty. Stir in the raisins. Make sure that you biscuits are a mix of crumbs and some larger bits for the best texture. Stir into the chocolate raisin mixture. Mix well to coat all. Press into the prepared pan, making sure you press down firmly. (I use the bottom of a metal dry measuring cup to do this.) Pour the melted milk chocolate over top smoothing over to cover completely. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour prior to cutting into squares to serve.
There are quite a few versions of this cake out there. This is the basic, simple version. Once you tackle this one, you could probably charge it up with a few changes, such as white chocolate with lotus biscuits and cranberries, etc. You could also add nuts. In any case, I do hope you will give this tasty version a go! Great for picnics and parties! Bon Appetit!
