All set to watch the wedding of the year? Throwing a viewing party? Perhaps a Royal-themed English breakfast? With William and Catherine walking out of Westminster Abbey this morning, it's time to let the new groom and bride have cake and eat it too! Catherine's wedding cake will be that of a traditional fruit cake while William's groom cake will be a Chocolate Biscuit Cake, a favorite of the prince. Be sure to use McVities Dark Chocolate digestive biscuits, though. Here is the recipe for Chocolate Biscuit Cake (which I deviated a little bit, see below) by Darren McGrady, a former Royal chef.
I've heard concerns about using raw egg in this recipe. Since this cake is not baked, there were concerns of salmonella from using the raw egg. So, instead, I've decided to tweak the recipe by tempering the egg with the melted chocolate. This heat from the melted chocolate will cook the egg slightly (and give a false sense of security that you won't get salmonella!).
A package of McVities Dark Chocolate digestive biscuits comes in a 300g roll (about 10 ounces). I just eyeballed it by taking 4 biscuits out (the remaining is probably around 8 ounces). Look mum ... no measuring!
For the cake:
4 ounces dark chocolate
4 ounces (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened)
1 egg
8 ounces McVities Dark Chocolate digestive biscuits.
8 ounces dark chocolate (for coating)
1 ounce chocolate (for decoration, optional)
½ teaspoon butter for greasing.
Lightly grease a 6 inch by 2 ½ inch cake ring and place on a tray on a sheet of parchment paper. I use a silicone pan so no need to grease and line with paper.
Break each of the biscuits into almond size pieces by hand and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is fluffy, about 5 minutes. Whisk egg in a small bowl and set aside.
Melt the 4 ounces of chocolate (using a double boiler).
Spoon a small spoonful of the melted chocolate into the egg and quickly whisk it. It will turn into a lumpy mixture but that's OK. We want to increase the temperature of the egg but we don't want to cook it. Slowly add the egg and chocolate mixture back to the melted chocolate and whisk constantly. Your melted chocolate mixture will be smooth and has a shiny sheen. Good job!
Add the chocolate mixture into the butter mixture. Mix with the electric mixer for another 5 minutes until mixture is fluffy (similar consistency to that of chocolate frosting).
Fold in the biscuit pieces until they are all coated with the chocolate mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake ring. Try to fill all of the gaps on the bottom of the ring because this will be the top when it is un-molded. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it stand while you melt the 8 ounces of chocolate.
Slide the ring off the cake and turn it upside down onto a cake wire. Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and smooth the top and sides using a palette knife (or an offset spatula). I mistakenly used a 9 inch cake pan ... the cake turned out to be more like a cookie!
Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature.Carefully run a knife around the bottom of the cake where the chocolate has stuck it to the cake wire and lift it onto a tea plate.
Melt the remaining 1 ounce of chocolate and use to decorate the top of the cake. I decorated my cake with sugared rose petals (Miss you, Diana!). Serve cake at room temperature.
2 comments:
Thanks for the recipe! I knew there had to be one out there. You have solved the egg problem that also challenges us with my mother’s French silk chocolate recipe, so thank you also for a solution that is not overly sweet!! Of course, this cake is the height of sweetness, but, imagine, it is also good for health!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was unaware of the prevalent of raw egg used in European baked goods. It's culturally interesting ... raw eggs are almost immediately frown upon in most American recipes!
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