Maria Biscuit Cake

This is an easy no-bake cake.  It is for dark chocolate lovers and will quickly satiate any chocolate craving.  There are nuts added to the cake but if you have nut allergies in the family simply leave them out.

The main ingredient is Maria Biscuits.  For anyone with an Indian background you will feel nostalgic at the mention of these biscuits. Most of us have had these biscuits served at tea time or as snacks.  All I can say is yum.  My memories of Maria biscuits is slathering butter on them and dipping them in my hot tea as a kid......make your own memories with Maria biscuits with this delicious recipe.

Many readers may have heard of the Royal biscuit cake that the Queen and her grandson William enjoy together on birthdays.  This is a version of the same recipe. I cut down extensively on the weight and amount of cookies called for in most of the recipes on the web.  Most recipes call for 800 gram of biscuits -  I used 600 grams of Maria biscuits ( 2 packaged rolls) and 1 cup of nuts.  Do give it a try, it is not only simple and decadent but looks beautiful when cut and served.  It is so dense and rich that a little goes a long way!!

Ingredients

For the cake
600 grams Maria Biscuits ( you can substitute digestive or tea biscuits)
1 cup of toasted, chopped walnuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
2/3 cups butter ( margarine or vegan butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the topping
1/2 cup whipping cream ( for vegans open a can of thick coconut milk and skim off 1/2 cup of the creamy thick portion)
4 ounces semi sweet dark chocolate
extra nuts or crushed cookies for decorating, or any other substitution like chocolate curls etc.

Break the cookies into almond sized pieces.  I broke the cookie in half first and then 4 pieces per half.

Chop the walnuts

 Put a pan on the stove.  When hot add the nuts.  Shake or stir till they start to brown. Do not burn. Keep a watch on the nuts and stir  continuously because they brown very fast.

Add the toasted nuts to the biscuit pieces and mix well.

Add the cocoa powder and the sugar to a medium saucepan.  Whisk well to mix.

Slowly add the water a little at a time and mix well to form a smooth mixture.

Add the butter and put on stove.  

Bring the mixture to a boil on Medium heat, and then let it gently boil for 8-10 minutes.  Use a whisk to stir it and keep it smooth. Keep an eye on it and continuously whisk because it may boil over.

Take the liquid off the stove and leave aside to cool for about 10-15 minutes.  When the chocolate mixture has cooled add the teaspoon of vanilla essence and stir well.

In the meantime get a spring form cake pan ready.  Line the base with parchment paper and lightly grease the base and the sides with a kitchen spray or butter.

Add the chocolate liquid to the biscuits and mix well with a spatula until the biscuits are all coated well.

Spoon the mixture into the cake pan.  Pressing well with each spoonful so that the mixture is well pressed into the pan, and that there are no air bubbles or gaps in the mixture.

Take time to do this or the final product will not look nice.  I used a large spoon and really pressed down on the cake especially along the sides so that the biscuit mixture is densely sitting in the pan...no gaps or air bubbles.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to an hour.  I used a 9 inch pan

Later, chop the chocolate into pieces and keep aside.

Put the cream into a small pan.  Bring to a boil and remove.

 Add the chocolate pieces to the hot cream and stir or whisk till fully melted and  smooth and silky.

 Take the cake out of the fridge and pour the chocolate sauce over the cake.  Put this back into the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Remove from the spring form.

Decorate with more nuts or crushed cookies.

Slice and enjoy.


Approximate nutritional value based on 24 servings
calories 269.9/ total fat 16.3 g/ total carbohydrates 30.7 g/ Protein 3 g