Chocolate Biscuit cake
Updated: May 20, 2024, By Swasthi
Chocolate Biscuit Cake & It’s tea time again! What should you have with your cuppa? Definitely a little slice of this cake. Part nostalgia, part sweet treat, part absolute chocolate indulgence, this little cake is perfect for afternoon tea or an after-dinner dessert. With crumbled digestive biscuits and nuts enrobed in a creamy chocolate filling and the outside covered in a layer of melted chocolate, a good slice of chocolate biscuit cake has it all – texture, flavor, and ease of preparation.
What is a Biscuit Cake?
A Chocolate biscuit cake is a kind of tea cake, a sweet commonly served with tea in the U.K. It consists of crumbled up biscuits mixed with a kind of chocolate syrup and set in a pan. It is finished with melted chocolate on the outside. In more recent times, it’s been a notable favorite dessert among the British Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth II is an advent lover of biscuit cake, and her grandson Prince William requested it as the groom’s cake at his wedding. The biscuit cake’s enduring popularity has made it an iconic recipe in the baking world.
Biscuit cake is one of those recipes that is best to make ahead, so it’s perfect for when you plan on having guests over for tea or dessert. Make this recipe a day or two before and you won’t even have to worry when folks start craving something sweet with tea or after a meal.
What you need
Firstly, a springform pan or pan with a removable base would be the easiest to use, but you can also use a regular cake pan. Be sure to line it with parchment paper for easy removal. Since this is a no bake cake recipe feel free to use any pan you have. But a 6 or 7 inch cake pans will be better. This recipe can be easily halved and still be made in a smaller pan or tray.
Second, It is best to use high quality cocoa powder, chocolate, and vanilla in your biscuit cake. The flavors are relatively simple, so using nice ingredients will really make the cake shine. Consider using Dutch-processed or alkalized cocoa powder as opposed to natural cocoa powder for a darker colored and richer-tasting filling.
Third, Tea biscuits or digestive biscuits are an important part of the recipe. What do you do if you don’t have access to digestive biscuits? There are definitely other cookies or biscuits you could use depending on where you live. Graham crackers or Marie biscuits work, but you could also use shortbread or gingersnaps if you’re in a real pinch.
Just keep in mind these cookies and biscuits all have different flavors that will affect the biscuit cake! So you may need to use lesser amount of them so the biscuit won’t turn out crumbly and dry.
More easy cakes,
Eggless chocolate cake
Cooker cake recipe
Best chocolate cake
Tutti frutti cake
Eggless black forest cake
Photo Guide
How to make Chocolate Biscuit Cake (Stepwise Photos)
Make Chocolate Syrup
1. Mix together 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, ½ cup organic sugar, 1 cup milk & 2 tbsps unsalted butter.
2. Whisk until the cocoa dissolves well and turns to a smooth liquid. It should not have any lumps.
3. Begin to boil on a medium heat stirring often until the mixture thickens slightly. You can also add butter if using.
4. Turn off when it turns thick. Check by dipping a spoon. The chocolate syrup has to coat the back of a spoon. This is the right consistency. It will thicken further upon cooling. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and set this aside to cool down slightly.
Make Biscuit Cake
5. Meanwhile break 250 grams thin digestive or any tea biscuits to half by 1 inch sizes. Too large chunks will remain dry in the cake. This will make the cake crumbly and dry. Chop ¼ cup chopped nuts and add. You can also skip them. I went ahead using almonds. You may also pulse them in a grinder and add.
6. Pour the syrup in 2 batches mixing well. Avoid pouring all of the syrup at one time as it makes some pieces soggy while the others will not have enough syrup.
7. The biscuit pieces must be well coated with the chocolate syrup.
8. Transfer this to the pan and press down with the base of a cup. Some pieces of biscuits will break, it is just normal. Then level it with a spatula.
9. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. You can also leave it longer.
Prepare Frosting
10. Since I did not have chocolate in hand, I went ahead using semi sweet mini chocolate chips. Add ½ cup chocolate chips or 100 grams chopped chocolate and 3 tablespoons milk to a bowl. Melt it and mix well until smooth.
You can microwave it for a min, stirring every 30 seconds until it turns smooth. I followed double boiler method and placed this bowl over a pot of hot water. Whisked it well.
11. The melted chocolate has to be very smooth & spreadable.
12. Remove the biscuit cake from the pan gently. The sides will look crumbly & ugly. Just ignore it and smoothen with a spatula.
13. Pour the melted chocolate and spread it.
14. Smear some chocolate on the sides and smoothen it as well.
15. Refrigerate the biscuit cake until set. It just takes a while for your chocolate to set. I melted some white chocolate and transferred to a piping bag. Squeezed to draw some lines over it. You can make any design or decorate it.
Slice the cake and serve plain or with Ice cream. Biscuit cake keeps good for about a week if refrigerated.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Chocolate Biscuit Cake Recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 250 grams thin biscuits (digestive or any tea biscuits)
- ¼ cup Nuts chopped (like almonds)
Chocolate syrup
- 1 cup full fat milk (whole milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ cup organic sugar (jaggery or palm jaggery) (notes)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For frosting
- ½ cup chocolate chips (or 100 grams of sweetened chocolate bar)
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Prepare a 6 inch spring foam pan or a pan with removable base. Alternately you may use a regular cake pan lined with parchment paper.
Make Chocolate Syrup
- Mix together sugar, cocoa & milk in a pan. Whisk well to make a smooth liquid, breaking up lumps of cocoa if any.
- Add butter & boil this stirring often until you get a slightly thick syrup. To test, dip a spoon and check. The syrup must coat the back of the spoon. This will further thicken upon cooling. Stir in vanilla and set aside to cool down.
How to make Chocolate Biscuit Cake
- Break down the biscuits approximately to 1 by ½ inch pieces. When the syrup cools down pour it in 2 batches and give a good stir.
- Transfer the chocolate biscuits to the pan and press down with the base of a measuring cup. Smoothen the top with a spatula. Cover it and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until set.
- Melt Chocolate: Add the chocolate and milk to a small bowl. Microwave it for 1 minute, stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate melts and turns smooth. Or Double boiler – Alternately place the bowl over a small pot of hot water. Stir and mix until smooth.
- Unmold the cake gently from the pan. Or lift the cake from the pan holding the butter paper. Spread the chocolate frosting over the biscuit cake with a spatula. Smear some chocolate on the sides & smoothen.
- Refrigerate until the chocolate frosting is set. Slice the biscuit cake and serve plain or with Ice cream or tea.
Notes
- Biscuits: Choose thin biscuits. Thick biscuits won’t absorb the chocolate syrup so they remain dry.
- Sugar: You can reduce sugar if you are using sweet biscuits.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
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About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Hi, can I use a 10 inch pan instead?
Hi,
I am not sure if the mixture is enough to fit in a 10 inch pan. I feel you should double (2x) the recipe
Hi, can I skip the chocolate frosting? or make a frosting with cocoa powder instead of chocolate?
Hi Anna,
Yes the recipe works but it won’t dry out and will be sticky
I tried this earlier and it came out great! Yesterday night however, I poured the hot cocoa syrup on the biscuits. So, it has turned out very soggy. Any means to rectify it?
May be you can try adding some desiccated coconut or powdered biscuits to soak up the excess moisture. The other way is to add the soggy mixture plus more biscuits or coconut to a food processor and make coarse crumbs.
Can I skip the butter and tell me if I skip what happens
Yes you can skip. Butter adds richness. It turns out slightly dry without butter but still good.
Recipe was easy and everyone loved it, though it was my experience in making cakes. Thank you for sharing→
Welcome Neelam
Can I mix maida with biscuits powder to make cake ???
Hi Rajani,
No not in this recipe. This is a no bake/no cook cake. Flour will be uncooked. I don’t suggest altering the recipe as the cake may not set well.
Thank you for sharing such easy to make n healthy recipes ?☺️
Welcome Swati
Glad you liked it.
🙂
Hey Swasthi,
Terrific biscuit cake. You made our day. I made this biscuit cake twice in the last week for a kids party. All the kids went gaga over the cake. However the first time I made it was slightly drier and crumbly. So the second time I made more chocolate syrup and used about half cup more. For the second one the chocolate syrup seeped on to the tray I had kept but the cake was more moist. Can you please tell me where did I go wrong? Which brand of digestive biscuits did you use? I live in KL so I can use the same. TIA
Hi Mona,
sorry somehow missed replying your comment. I am extremely sorry. Yes any excess chocolate syrup will be left out by the cake. I understand this to be an issue with the size of cut biscuits. As I know larger chunks of biscuits don’t absorb the syrup well so the cake remains too dry and crumbles while slicing. Please stick on to the measurements I have given in the recipe and keep the pieces smaller. I used the Mc-vities digestive biscuits. I guess this brand is very easily available. But i am sure this recipe works with any kind of biscuits even tea biscuits. Hope this helps.
Easy biscuit cake recipe.
Hi Sangeetha,
Thank you.
Can i use amul salted butter instead of unsalted?? Will this change the taste of the cake?? Thank you
I haven’t tried but I feel it doesn’t taste good. Since the biscuits will have some salt, it may be a lot
Unique cake with biscuit, like cooking shows on TV , everyone new recipe can be learnt
Thank you
Welcome Shamanth,
Thank you so much!