Watching snippets of the royal wedding on TV, and seeing Prince Williams groom’s cake – a chocolate biscuit cake – reminded me of the chocolate biscuit cakes of my childhood. Because my mother grew up in the UK before moving to India, we had a lot of British treats in our home in India. Chocolate biscuit cake was one of them. This recipe is simple to make, and requires no baking (which is why it’s also called a fridge cake).
As kids in India, we used to make this recipe with Indian Marie biscuits. We’d dip them whole into chocolate sauce, and stack them up – towers of chocolate biscuit goodness!
If you can find British digestive biscuits, they are the BEST for this recipe. I was thrilled beyond belief to find British McVities digestive biscuits in the International aisle of my local grocery store! I believe you can also find them at world market.
A digestive biscuit is a coarse wheat cookie, flaky, no too sweet and oh-so-delish. I wonder why it is “digestive”; must be because it has a bit more fiber than a regular cookie.
Substitutes for British digestive biscuits
- American graham crackers
– British rich tea biscuits (my second favorite for this recipe)
- Indian Britannia digestive biscuits
- Indian Marie biscuits
If you are using butter cookies or graham crackers, remember that they are sweeter, you might need less. Also taste and adjust the sugar as you go if you are using any of the substitutes.
You can glaze this cake with a chocolate ganache, but I skipped that step because the cake is quite rich as it is.
More yummy chocolate biscuit cake recipes..
Official Buckingham Palace chocolate biscuit cake recipe by Darren McGrady, former personal chef to the royal family
Chocolate biscuit cake recipe on Oprah.com
Chocolate biscuit cake recipe on Daily spud
Royal wedding groom cake recipe by Brown eyed baker
No bake English chocolate biscuit cake recipe on Joy of baking
Royal Chocolate Biscuit Cake Recipe
serves about 8
7 oz. McVities digestive biscuits (about 12 biscuits). See above for substitutions.
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (milk chocolate)*
2 oz. dark chocolate (60% cocoa)*
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons sugar or honey
*You can vary the milk chocolate: dark chocolate ratio if you like. Just make sure the total amount of chocolate (milk&dark) is 8 oz.
Break each biscuit into about 10 pieces. Place the broken biscuits in a bowl.
Melt all the other ingredients together in a double boiler –pour about 1 cup water into a saucepan or pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and keep the water on a gentle simmer. Select a bowl that will fit over the saucepan, without touching the water (the steam from the water will melt the chocolate in the bowl).
Add all ingredients except the broken up biscuits, to the bowl over the simmering water. Whisk frequently, till everything is melted and you get a smooth sauce. Be careful not to get any water into the chocolate sauce.
Remove the bowl from the saucepan, and let the chocolate sauce cool for about 15 minutes. Gently fold in the broken up biscuits.
Line a loaf pan or cake tin with a large piece of glad wrap/cling film so that there is an over hang on all sides. Pour the cake mixture over the glad wrap and gently press down using a spatula, and flatten out the top. If your cake mixture is still warm, let it cool completely before proceeding.
Then fold the overhanging glad wrap over the cake. Using your palms, gently press down to compact everything. Refrigerate for 3 hours or till the cake is set.
Remove the glad wrap, cut into slices or cubes and serve.
Store chocolate biscuit cake in the fridge.
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The best dessert I’ve ever had is a chocolate mousse and lady finger cookie icebox cake with fresh whipped cream. Amazing!
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what a gorgeous and delicious dessert! I’d definitely go with dark chocolate.
I don’t know if I can pick just one dessert…that’s so hard. Some of my faves are flourless chocolate cake, pistachio macarons and fresh cherries.
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The season for no-bake desserts is definitely coming! When I think about the best desserts I’ve had, I always think of pies. The first strawberry-rhubarb pie I made myself was particularly delicious, but I think part of that was the satisfaction that it came from my own kitchen.
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A great fuss-free dessert/cake!
Cheers,
Rosa
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book marking this. will make it once I come back. just the way it looks makes me want to make one.
best dessert? this is a tough one.. tiramisu? baklava? don’t know:) it all depends on my mood.
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The best dessert I’ve ever had was probably some sort of chocolate cheesecake my mother’s made.
ps. LOVE all British candies and sweets. I lived there for 10 years and absolutely fell in love with their desserts – even fondant on kids birthday cakes!
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my fav dessert would probably be some fresh bakes homemade delicious chocolate chip cookies! yummm
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I absolutely love chocolate eclairs but in the summer my grandmother’s cocnut milk jelly wins hands down !!
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Lov the combo…looks so perfectly done
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CPK’s Tiramisu.
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Picking one dessert is almost impossible! My mother’s chocolate zucchini cake is wonderful but I also love a good brownie ice cream sundae, pumpkin pie and sea salt/peanut butter caramel corn.
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Anything with ice cream! I once had a coffe ice cream cake with a chocolate ganache and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!
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Anything with ice cream! I once had a coffee ice cream cake with a chocolate ganache and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!
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you’ve given me such an inspiration to make a dessert of my own… Thanks!
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i see this cake being posted everywhere now! looks gorgeous and i love the combo!
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My favorite dessert that I have had by far is my mom’s version of the Sri Lankan dessert called Vattalappam and of course another one called dodhal (made with coconut milk and palm sugar).
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This one’s so easy to try-bookmarked!
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I have many favorite desserts but my favorite dessert memory involves a summer day and an amazing, cold, tart lemon bar.
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Homemade chocolate chip cookies when they’re still warm and gooey in the centre!
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Loved the cake!!! It’s hard to believe that it is so simple to put together. Book marking this
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The best dessert I’ve ever had is flourless chocolate cake with raspberry coulis and a touch of whipped cream. Divine!
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This looks tempting and sure to taste divine!
My boss recently introduced me to an Egyptian dessert Umm Ali and challenged if I could find a better dessert! True to his words, it tasted heavenly! Of course it was super flowing with richness in all forms of milk and nuts….
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What a gorgeous looking dessert! and easy too, must try! We do get these digestive cookies in the Int’l aisle in the store here ( surprising considering we do not have TJ, Sprouts or Whole Foods in this city) .
My fav dessert (as of date) is Tiramisu cheesecake, oh bliss! in fact all things Tiramisu.
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Can’t wait to try making this biscuit cake! It looks so simple and delicious.
The best dessert I’ve ever had was Lauduree’s Millefueille au Rhum. I shared this amazing pastry with my husband on our honeymoon. I think part of the thing that makes a dessert so good is when, where, and who you’re sharing it with.
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
May 3rd, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Absolutely!! Food tastes so much better when you have it with special people or in a special place
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The best dessert I have ever had are mashed avocados sprinkled with brown sugar.
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This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it out.
My Dad makes an ice box cake by layering graham crackers and chocolate pudding. It’s awesome and brings all those homey, comforting feelings to the surface. For best dessert it’s a toss-up between that and a slice of authentic, NY cheesecake.
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This cake looks amazing, and the no-bake part makes it a huge plus.
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What a hard choice to make- it would either be an amazing carrot cake at a friend’s wedding or a key lime pie from a local bakery.
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The best dessert I ever had was a dish called ‘Chocolate Death’! Basically, it’s a trifle made with chocolate brownies, chocolate mousse, coolwhip, and brickle bits. NUM!
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McVitie’s is available in most Indian/regular grocery stores in Austin and Houston. Britannia Nutrichoice is also a good substitute! SO glad you posted this variation on Biscuit cake. It’s one of my favourites!
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This looks delicious!
I don’t think I can pick just one dessert but I do love mango with sticky rice!
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The best dessert I ever had was a fresh waffle with berries and syrup from a small greek place…amazing!
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This dessert looks great for a summer dinner party – since you don’t need to heat the oven! I especially love the way the digestive biscuits look like little bricks in mortar when the dessert is sliced. Great pictures!
Best dessert ever… I think right now I would have to say a blueberry lemon mousse pie with cinnamon graham cracker crust I’ve made from a Mollie Katzen recipe. Jeez, or the butterscotch budino at Pizzeria Mozza….
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I’ve never turned down gulab jamun. My aunt makes the best homemade ones, without being too hard in the center. I judge an indian restuarant on the quality of their gulab jamun,
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Wow this biscuit cake looks so gud …McVities is the only digestive biscuits I like ….Kala Jamun from one of the shop here was divine ..
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definitely trying this one, since i’m not terribly good with baked desserts.
fave dessert: thai coconut custard with sticky rice. yum!
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The best dessert for me is the – molten choclate cake in chili’s .
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I love yellow cake with chocolate icing; I know it’s a simple dessert but it’s great!
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The best dessert I ever had was a strawberry pie I made recently; it was so good I’ve made it three times in the past two months! Everyone first comments on the color which is a bright, jewel red, then they eat it up. I’ve never had leftovers!
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I would have to say that the best dessert I have ever had is a Royale at Pix Patisserie in Portland, Oregon. It has chocolate, hints of salt, mouse, and crunchy pralines. YUM.
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i feel like the best dessert i ever had was knafe (sp?) — this orange, extremely sweet cheese dessert I had in the Muslim quarter in Israel. If only I could find some here…
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Ambalapuzha palpayasam..,If at all it can be called a ‘dessert’..:).Its so divine and absolutely makes me yearn like crazy whenever I think of it
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Cake looks simple and delicious!
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I love fridge cake! It’s one of those easy go to recipes that never disappoints. I couldn’t possible pick one best dessert but one of the best things I’ve ever eaten are the macarons from Pierre Herme – heaven!
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The best dessert I ever had must be tiramusu….the first impression that came to mind when i saw the pics was of Twix chocolate…..looks yummy and chocolaty………..
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The best dessert I ever had was in Paris. To simplify it, it was 2 lemon cookies with a filling of orange ice cream… yet, when I have tried to re-create it at home, using just these 2 ingredients, it’s never tasted the same. Perhaps it needs a backdrop of the Eiffel Tower to truly taste authentic!
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I would say the best dessert is an amalgamation of flavor and experience. A chance whiff hearkens back to memories of somnolent summer afternoons in Bangalore (where I was raised). If that is considered, I am almost always transported back to the times when my mother used to make chocolate burfis, and I, with great difficulty, snatched the privilege of licking the remnants of the cast-iron saucepan. The “every bite is precious” goodness of the chocolate flakes, the growing alarm of the transience of these remnants, and the slight metal-like taste from the enthusiastic scraping of the saucepan (so that no morsel is wasted) – this is the best “memory package” dessert experience I have ever had
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The best dessert i’ve enjoyed recently was a deliciously moist peanut butter cake filled with rich chocolate ganache and topped with the perfect amount of cream cheese icing. It was heavenly!
I love your blog…truly inspired recipes.
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Tempting and simple dessert…..
My Fav is Black Forest Cake!!
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Oh, I really like my mom’s mud pie (coffee ice cream, fudge, cookie base)!
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My friend made a poached pear with ginger and pistachio pastry cream that not only looked like a beautiful flower but also was absolutely incredible!
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Belgian Waffles !!!!! Yummm !!!
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I am saving this to give a try .. sooo yummy and no baking sounds fun to me
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The best dessert I’ve ever had is an amazing warm and gooey chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream.
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First off..I cannot wait to make this cake. For something that looks so mosaic and froo froo, it’s so simple! Love it! As for my dessert..wow, there are so many I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Tonight I’m craving custard, so that’s it for now
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I have a ridiculous sweet tooth so picking my favorite dessert is hard!
But I think I have to decide that the Ba Bao Fan (Chinese Eight Treasure Rice) that my mom makes for the holidays is my favorite :]
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that’s like asking a mother of 5 which child is her favorite! i once had a bananas foster upside down cake that left quite an impression on me. i haven’t been able to recreate it, and that’s dang frustrating!
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Best dessert ever: French Toast at IHOP. Sooo good!
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Am so glad I didn’t miss this.. I used to make Marie Biscuit choco sticks as a kid. Reminded me of that.
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And Ohh.. the Best dessert I ever had was the Canolly Cake from an Italian Bakery near my place
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Sala,
My all time favorite dessert is Chocolate Chocolate cake which we get in an artisan bakery near my house. The taste is divine and appeals the choco lover in me! Me and my husband also love slurping in home made Basundi – I believe one has to really taste this dessert to refuse a second helping. Its simply rich!
Hope to win the goodies….
Thanks,.
Ashwini
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my favourite dessert of all time has to be chocolate mousse!!!rich creamy!!
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Beautiful, Sala! I love that this cake ties back to your childhood memories and it’s so great you’re able to recreate them now.
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Just saw this on TasteSpotting and it looks to die…can’t wait to make it!
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I knew that someone would be making this dessert for TasteSpotting soon.
I’d love to win this giveaway, great prizes!
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Delicious looking cake, great pictures! Actually it is very old lithuanian recipe and we call it “Lazy cake”
)
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I remember when my friend Sara made this for me using matzah. It happened one year when my birthday fell during passover. It was awesome!!!!!
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only one question.. i’ve got hershey’s chocolate syrup at home… can i use it instead of the choc in “Royal Chocolate Biscuit Cake Recipe”… do u have any receipes i can try out with hershey’s syrup
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 12:00 am
you could, but you may need to add more biscuits and adjust according to taste.
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I love the way this looks when sliced. What is the consistency of the “cake” like? Is it crunchy & brittle? Is the chocolate hard when finished? Thanks!
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It came out really well….loved it! Thanks! Reminded me of home
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Made this yesterday. Is the finished product supposed to be really hard? It was almost impossible to slice. It was very tasty, but it was more like chocolate covered cookie pieces, not anything like a cake.
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
December 1st, 2012 at 3:34 pm
It’s not supposed to be spongy like a cake. But it should be easy to cut. What kind of biscuit did you use?
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yeah that reminds me of choco shells made with marie biscuits…lemme try this out.. looks yummy…..:)
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The best dessert I’ve ever had is my mum’s chocolate biscuit cake. Top with Real dark and Roasty chocolate ganache ! It’s my childhood memories. Love your recipe anyway! Xoxo
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Lovely biscuit cake sala.Must be really yummy.
MyKitchenOdyssey
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This dessert looks amazing! I have never heard of a cake like this, I have seen digestives at my local Walmart. I have always wanted to try them, now I have an excuse
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