Milk chocolate suitable for choc. biscuit cake?

Anne Boleyn · by **Anne Boleyn** » Tue Dec 06, 2021 9:33 pm

Hi girls- it's my first time posting on this part of the forum :wv

I want to make chocolate biscuit cakes as part of the hampers I'm making for familyas Christmas presents. I have been experimenting & trying to perfect my recipe, the problem is the chocolate.

The first time I made it I used the Aldi rip-off of Cadbury's chocolate, the next time I used IKEA milk chocolate, & of course the chocolate in both cases went grainy as soon as I melted it & added the butter & golden syrup.

So last time I used good quality dark chocolate which worked a treat BUT I personally found the finished cake very strong tasting. I much prefer milk chocolate biscuit cake, as, I'd say, my hamper recipients would too!

So can anyone recommend good quality milk chocolate suitable for making chocolate biscuit cake? Thanks in advance! :wv

by **jjewel** » Tue Dec 06, 2021 10:23 pm

It might depend on the recipe but anytime I've made chocolate biscuit cake I've just always used good ol' dairy milk and its been fine!

yumyumcake · by **yumyumcake** » Tue Dec 06, 2021 10:29 pm

To be honest I would use max of 50% milk chocolate in a biscuit cake, assuming the recipe has golden syrup or condensed milk that adds a lot of sweetness to already sweet milk chocolate. I find half and half milk and dark is the most popular combination.

I use Lidl Fin Carre brand for milk, buy the 100g bars, the larger 200g are actually quite different, less cocoa solids or something, not as nice. I use Lidl 74% myself for the dark but if for someone else I use their Bellarom range of dark, 200g bar, is only about 50% cocoa solids so much milder and delicious, hate buying it though because I will eat the rest of the bar!

If you really must you could use all the milk but I wouldnt. Either way it should not have gone grainy, did you heat it too much? Bowl over barely simmering water and I would add the butter at the start before it melts at all as that will help keep it more liquid.

by **gwenf** » Tue Dec 06, 2021 10:36 pm

hi
there is a lot more fat in milk choc - dark works better and is easier to work with - it dosent go cackey the way milk does -happy baking!

Anne Boleyn · by **Anne Boleyn** » Wed Dec 07, 2021 10:36 pm

Thanks so much for the replies, especially your very comprehensive one, cakesiknow- I'm guessing that you are in the baking industry jusdging by your expertise & your username! Thanks for the tip about the Lidl chocolate- I would be broke if I had to keep experimenting with Green & Blacks!

The first time I stupidly had the bottom of the bowl touching the water, but I've been v. careful since then, but maybe the water was bubbling rather than just simmering.

I'll keep trying until I perfect the recipe- I saw one with condensed milk rather than golden syrup so I might try that next time. Thanks again! :thnk

thefondantfairy · by **thefondantfairy** » Fri Dec 09, 2021 12:05 am

I always use lidls bellarom finest dark chocolate, comes in a red pack 200g its 45%. I find it much nicer than the higher % cocoa solid bars, find them a little bitter.

yumyumcake · by **yumyumcake** » Fri Dec 09, 2021 7:17 pm

Green & Blacks, while lovely, is just too expensive these days especially for something like biscuit cake. I love the Bellarom red pack too, I could eat the whole bar myself. I would advise using some dark and not all milk as the condensed milk or syrup will add a lot of sweetness to counteract any bitterness with the darker chocolate.

Condensed milk gives a kind of fudgy texture to the cake if you like that, it makes it much easier to slice as it does not get rock solid. The Odlums website biscuit cake has a much higher percentage of butter than other recipes and is quite liquid when made so is an easy one to make.

Sounds like you were a bit heavy handed with the heat alright, better luck next time.

Anne Boleyn · by **Anne Boleyn** » Tue Dec 13, 2021 10:48 pm

Thanks again, cakesiknow!

Well I made it over the weekend again using the Lidl chocolate, & condensed milk this time instead of golden syrup & it turned out perfectly! I am finally happy with the flavour- thank you so much for your tips!

I used Rich Tea biscuits this time rather than Digestives as they are a bit lighter, but I've found that they have already gone a bit soft in the pieces of cake (I cut it into small squares- this is how I want to give it to people. Is this normal, or is it better to use Digestives?

How far in advance is it ok to make the cake? I'm giving squares if it as part of hampers I'm making. How long should it keep?

I really appreciate you taking time to help me & answer my questions- thanks so much!

yumyumcake · by **yumyumcake** » Thu Dec 15, 2021 12:24 pm

I use half and half rich tea and digestives. The digestives go soft quicker than the rich tea in my opinion, however rich tea vary a load in their texture and hardness to start with. Again I find Lidl rich tea the best, they are the hardest I have used so stay that way longer in the cake. All biscuits are going to soften really the longer the cake is made but I find it perfectly fine for up to a week, still fine but softer for another week and to be honest if it was still around for another few days it would be still edible.

Anne Boleyn · by **Anne Boleyn** » Wed Dec 21, 2021 4:46 pm

Thanks again for taking the time to respond, cakesiknow. Wish me luck- will be flat out making choc. biscuit squares, peppermint creams & peanut fudge ove the next few days!

Delphinium · by **Delphinium** » Mon Jan 16, 2022 8:43 pm

I just tried making chocolate biscuit cake for the first time over the weekend and used the Odlums recipe. It was fine but it was melting in people's hands while they were eating it which I never remember any chocolate biscuit cake I have ever had doing! I like the idea of using condensed milk instead of golden syrup. The more fudge-y consistency sounds more what I'm looking for. Does anyone have a recipe? Or can I just make a straight substitution of the to golden syrup in the Odlums recipe?

Anne Boleyn · by **Anne Boleyn** » Mon Jan 16, 2022 10:27 pm

This is the recipe I use- hope it comes up as I found it online & just copied the image& pasted it into a word document. I made it with the chocolate cakesiknow kindly suggested in the post above & it turned out perfectly for my Christmas hampers- they went down a storm! I don't add the raisins but that's just a personal preference. I do add mini marshmallows though- yum!

yumyumcake · by **yumyumcake** » Tue Jan 17, 2022 2:38 am

I do find the Odlums one a bit soft especially at room temperature, it's delicious but I think there is way too much butter in it, can't even bring myself to eat the scraps, can feel the arteries furring up as I eat.

Anyway I use 300g choc (1/2 milk, 1/2 dark), 300 biscuits - rich tea and digestives, 100g butter, I use unsalted as I find the digestives very salty but its a personal preference, 1 tin condensed milk. Melt choc, butter & add milk, mix with biscuits. This is recipe Daithi O'Shea used on The Restaurant minus the Baileys.

This makes a 6" round tin, twice the recipe for 9" round - sometimes I only use 1 tin of condensed milk to double the recipe, gives a firmer cake - good for warm weather.

Delphinium · by **Delphinium** » Tue Jan 17, 2022 10:38 pm

Thanks a million for the recipes ladies! Much appreciated! :thnk

I plan on making this as an allergen-free alternative cake for my DS's christening as 2 members of the immediate family have allergies to egg and gluten. It does make an ideal celebration cake. Now to go look for ideas for decorating.......

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