flipChocolate Biscuit Cake, the Queen's Favorite Cake
Chocolate Biscuit Cake, the Queen's Favorite Cake
Why this dish? This was THE cake that Elizabeth II constantly requested: a no-bake chocolate cake of which she asked for every last crumb, and which she had served as the groom's cake at Prince William's wedding in 2011. Her fondness for dark chocolate was well known.
A dense, no-bake cake made from broken biscuits bound with melted dark chocolate: hearty, intensely cocoa-flavored, the guilty pleasure of an otherwise frugal queen.
I freely confess: on the matter of chocolate, my discipline surrenders. This cake, my cook prepares and brings from one residence to another, for I insist on finding it until not a crumb remains. We break good biscuits, drown them in a very dark chocolate, and simply wait for the cold to do its work — no oven, no complication. For my grandson's wedding, I wanted it served: some affections deserve to be shared.
- •Dry biscuits like Rich Tea — one large packet (structure)
- •Dark chocolate — a generous amount (binder and flavor)
- •Butter — generous (softness)
- •Sugar and cocoa — a spoonful each (sweetness and intensity)
Chocolate Biscuit Cake, the Queen's Favorite Cake
A dense, no-bake cake made from broken biscuits bound with melted dark chocolate: hearty, intensely cocoa-flavored, the guilty pleasure of an otherwise frugal queen.
Why this dish? This was THE cake that Elizabeth II constantly requested: a no-bake chocolate cake of which she asked for every last crumb, and which she had served as the groom's cake at Prince William's wedding in 2011. Her fondness for dark chocolate was well known.
I freely confess: on the matter of chocolate, my discipline surrenders. This cake, my cook prepares and brings from one residence to another, for I insist on finding it until not a crumb remains. We break good biscuits, drown them in a very dark chocolate, and simply wait for the cold to do its work — no oven, no complication. For my grandson's wedding, I wanted it served: some affections deserve to be shared.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dry biscuits like Rich Tea — one large packet (structure)
- Dark chocolate — a generous amount (binder and flavor)
- Butter — generous (softness)
- Sugar and cocoa — a spoonful each (sweetness and intensity)
Ingredients
- Rich Tea biscuits (or Petit Beurre) — 225 g (structure)
- Dark chocolate 60-70% — 225 g (including 50 g for the glaze) (binder and flavor)
- Unsalted butter — 100 g (softness)
- Icing sugar — 75 g (sweetness)
- Unsweetened cocoa powder — 1 tbsp (intensity)
- 1 egg (optional, original royal recipe) — 1 (rich binder)
Method
- Line a loaf tin or a ring with cling film.
- Break the biscuits into pieces about 1 cm — not powder, not large chunks.
- Gently melt 175 g of chocolate with the butter; off the heat, stir in the icing sugar and cocoa (and the beaten egg if using).
- Pour over the biscuits and mix to coat evenly.
- Press into the tin, smooth the top, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (ideally overnight).
- Unmould, pour the remaining 50 g of melted chocolate over the top, let set, then slice into thin pieces.
How it was made : This no-bake biscuit cake, an heir to Victorian refrigerator cakes, traveled with the Queen between Buckingham, Windsor, and Balmoral. McGrady prepared a new one as soon as the previous was finished, because Elizabeth returned to it day after day.
The contemporary twist : A few roasted cacao nibs on the glaze, or a pinch of fleur de sel: noble bitterness balancing the sugar.
Sources : Darren McGrady, Eating Royally (2007) · Press coverage of the groom's cake, 2011 royal wedding
Elizabeth II · Charactorium
