Posted on www.today.com(Read original article here.)
“This chocolate biscuit cake is Her Royal Majesty the Queen’s favorite afternoon tea cake by far,” chef Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef and former personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, told TODAY Food. “This cake is probably the only one that is sent into the royal dining room again and again until it has all gone.”
“It is her favorite cake that she eats until it is all gone,” says McCrady. “If there is anything left when she has it at Buckingham Palace, it then goes to Windsor Castle so she can finish it there. I use to travel on the train from London to Windsor Castle with the biscuit cake in a tin on my knee. It was half eaten.”
There’s another member of the royal family who is a fan of this cake too: “This chocolate biscuit cake was Prince William’s groom’s cake at his wedding. The reason he chose it is that he used to go to tea with the Queen and he got a taste for it. That is when he started liking it.”
The rich dark chocolate cake has a lovely crunchy texture thanks to the addition of classic English cookies called Rich tea biscuits. A layer of decadent chocolate frosting is the perfect finishing touch.
Ingredients:
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
ICING
- 8 ounces dark chocolate, for coating
- 1 ounce chocolate, for decoration
Preparation
1. Lightly grease a 6-inch-by-2½-inch cake ring with the butter and place on a tray on a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Break each of the biscuits into almond size pieces by hand and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar until the mixture starts to lighten.
4. Melt the 4 ounces of the dark chocolate and add to the butter mixture, stirring constantly.
5. Add the egg and beat to combine.
6. Fold in the biscuit pieces until they are all coated with the chocolate mixture.
7. 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.
8. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
9. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it stand.
10. 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.
11. Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and smooth the top and sides using a palette knife.
12. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature.
13. 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.
14. Melt the remaining 1 ounce of chocolate and use to decorate the top of the cake.
Courtesy ofChef Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef.
