So, I’m a tad late on my new year’s resolution to make one of my great-aunt Jill’s recipes each month… two months gone and this is the first one… but that’s just how life goes… and this one is delicious so that makes up for it, right?!
I especially love it when my mum & I have the chance to bake together. She’s the one who taught me to cook & she’s always my first resource for anything cooking related… so it was really fun this past weekend when we had the opportunity to partake in some mother/ daughter time in the kitchen. We are cooking compatible… we don’t get in each other’s way (or nerves!) while we cook, and we’re fairly good at taking turns playing the executive chef/ sous chef roles. Plus she has so much more room than I do in her kitchen (an island!!) and when you set her oven to 350 degrees it means that your cake will actually bake at 350 degrees. Amazing!
We started off by baking a flourless chocolate cake (more on that later) and then decided to pull out Jill’s old recipe books whilst the cake was baking so we could make out one of our favorites… chocolate crumble squares. These chocolatey buttery bites are quite the addictive little treat… Jill would make them with peppermint, we prefer them sans, but it’s up to you and your chocolate preference. And the optional lemon rind sounded a bit strange so we left that out. They are really quick to make, especially when there’s two of you doing the work!
7 oz butter 4 level tablespoons cocoa 2 level tablespoons golden syrup 2 large bars of milk or semi-sweet chocolate 400 grams digestive biscuits(you can buy digestive biscuits at World Market and some other specialty food shops… a digestive biscuit is like a British version of a cookie, but more plain & less sweet. Don’t be put off by the name… I guess people used to think they were good for digestion because they were made w/ baking soda. I know, I don’t get it either. If stuck you can use graham crackers but personally I much prefer the flavor of digestives.)
1. Place butter, cocoa, & golden syrup in a saucepan and heat gently until butter melts.
2. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush by bashing with a rolling pin. Or, if you don’t feel like beating out any pent up aggression, simply blitz in a food processor.
3. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the crushed digestive biscuits and mix to combine.
4. Spoon the biscuit mixture into a shallow dish or silicon mold and press down well. If you wrap your hand with a little bit of cling film (“syran wrap” in American-talk) this will be a whole lot easier. Refrigerate for an hour or so until the mixture has hardened.
5. Melt the chocolate bars (either over a double boiler or in increments in the microwave) and spread over the biscuit base. Refrigerate again until the chocolate has set.
mmmmm… chocolate
6. Once set, cut into small squares. Of course you have to try at least one to make sure you don’t poison anyone. Very noble of you.
Leftovers to bring home to D, sadly two were crushed in my purse on the airplane… does that mean I should make another batch?
