Royal chef Darren McGrady says HRH loves this cake so much she has leftovers packaged up & taken with her while travelling.
As more Canadians work from home and practice self-isolation due to COVID-19, there’s been an increasing interest in turning on the oven and baking. I am definitely inclined to get crafty with more time on my hands during this time. I love reviews of what other people like, make, and have tried. And whose opinion is more credible than the Queen.
Baking provides a combination of distraction, comfort and something to look forward to. If you’re fed up with the usual cake recipes, you can now make afternoon tea fit for royalty with the Queen’s favourite chocolate biscuit cake recipe, and it’s super simple, too.
It’s not hard to see why the Queen likes to tuck into her favourite chocolate biscuit cake for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace. Reminiscent of the chocolate fridge cakes from childhood, or even the marshmallow-filled Rocky Road, the sumptuous dark chocolate and biscuit-filled cake is the perfect combination of crunchy texture and sweet fudge-style chocolate, thanks to the addition of Rich Tea biscuits. A layer of decadent chocolate icing is a finishing touch that would make even Mary Berry proud.
The monarch isn’t the only royal who has taken a liking to the delicious chocolate biscuit cake. Prince William is also a big fan, having first had a taste for it at high tea with his grandmother and loved it so much that he served it as a second “Groom’s cake” at his wedding to Kate Middleton. This recipe may found be on Darren Mcgrady’s website.
The Queen’s Favourite Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 teaspoon butter, for greasing the pan
- 8 ounces Rich tea biscuits or sweet cookies
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces granulated sugar
- 4 ounces dark chocolate
- 1 egg
For the icing topping:
- 8 ounces dark chocolate, for coating
- 1 ounce chocolate, for decoration
Method
For the cake:
- Lightly grease a 6-inch-by-2½-inch cake ring with the butter and place on a tray on a sheet of parchment paper.
- Break each of the biscuits into almond-size pieces by hand and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar until the mixture starts to lighten.
- Melt the 4 ounces of the dark chocolate and add to the butter mixture, stirring constantly.
- Add the egg and beat to combine.
- 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 3 hours.
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it stand.
For the icing:
- Meanwhile, melt the 8 ounces of dark chocolate in a double boiler or saucepan on the stove top over low heat. 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.
- 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.
