No need to bake in August with our indulgent chocolate fridge cake.
This cocoa-laden treat embodies indulgence, not least because you only need a fridge to make it. And it's the perfect way to celebrate National Afternoon Tea Week (11-17 August 2014).
Chocolate Fridge Cake
150g unsalted butter 100g golden syrup 200g dark chocolate, chopped 1 medium egg, lightly beaten 330g digestive biscuits (or similar) 60g walnuts 60g sultanas 100g glacé cherries 75g brazil nuts
1. Line a 23cm square tin or similar flat dish with baking parchment.
2. Melt the butter and golden syrup in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the chocolate, reduce heat to low and whisk until the chocolate has melted.
3. Gradually add the beaten egg and continue to stir with the whisk until the mixture has thickened a little and formed a shiny emulsion. The egg will cook in the heat of the mixture but don’t let it boil (it shouldn’t reach above 85C). Remove from the heat.
4. Break the biscuits into chunks (quarters are fine), put them in a bowl with the walnuts, sultanas and half the cherries. Pour the hot chocolate mix over the dry ingredients and mix gently. Decant into the prepared tin, leaving the runny chocolate on the side of the bowl for now. Press the mixture flat in the tin.
5. Put brazil nuts in the chocolatey bowl and, using a spatula, coat them in the leftover chocolate. Sprinkle in a loose pattern over the biscuit cake, then add the remaining cherries. Chill for 3 hours or until set.
Recipe taken from Konditor & Cook: Deservedly Legendary Baking by Gerhard Jenne (Ebury Press, £20)
Cake in the House - page 51 of August's The Simple Things. Buy or download now