Chocolate biscuit cake was the late Queen Elizabeth’s favorite cake, and this is the authentic no-bake recipe from former royal chef Darren McGrady.
chocolate biscuit cake from the British royal kitchen
Chocolate biscuit cake is Queen Elizabeth’s favorite cake ~ she would take a small slice every day with her tea, until the cake was finished, and then she’d start on a fresh one! She reportedly had her chefs bring along this special chocolate cake wherever she traveled, and the cake was so popular in the royal family that it was Prince William’s groom’s cake at his wedding to Kate Middleton.
After researching this tea cake I wasn’t entirely sure I’d like it, but I was wrong! I gobbled up an entire piece right in the middle of my photo shoot. The combination of the mousse-like chocolate filling with the crunch of the biscuits and the chocolate layer on top is really delicious. I’m a fan!
just four ingredients for British chocolate biscuit cake
Queen Elizabeth was famously not a ‘foodie’. Her tastes in food were surprisingly simple and homey and this no-bake ‘fridge cake’ is a good example. Just four basic ingredients make up this no-bake recipe. A fifth ingredient, a raw egg, is in the original recipe, but I’ve left it out because raw eggs aren’t considered safe to consume in the US. You could, if you like, use a pasteurized egg.
- English rich tea biscuits
- Look for English rich tea biscuits in larger supermarkets and specialty stores. Cost Plus World Market carries them as well. I used McVities Digestive Biscuits which are very similar to rich tea biscuits. These not too sweet wheat biscuits remind me a little bit of American graham crackers.
- butter
- granulated sugar
- if you happen to have superfine bakers sugar, that’s ideal, but otherwise, regular white sugar will do.
- dark chocolate
- melted chocolate is used in the filling and also as the icing on top. Honestly use whatever good quality chocolate you like, whether chips, or bar chocolate. Dark chocolate is specified in the original recipe and that’s what I used.
how to make a British chocolate biscuit cake
STEP 1. Break or chop the biscuits into pieces. Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, then beat in melted chocolate. At this point the British recipe has you beat in a raw egg, but I left that out.
STEP 2. Fold in the biscuit pieces so that everything is evenly blended.
STEP 3. Fill prepared cake pan, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until chilled and firm.
STEP 4. Invert cake out onto a rack. Remove plastic wrap.
STEP 5. Pour melted chocolate over cake and spread over top and sides with an offset spatula.
STEP 6. Allow the chocolate to set up at room temperature, and slice.
final thoughts on chocolate biscuit cake…
This cake is vey good, and unique, at least as far as American desserts go. It’s quite rich, so thin slices are best. It actually reminds me of a KitKat candy bar, in cake form! I hope you give it a try, I think you’ll love it like I did.
more British inspired food
- How to Make Clotted Cream
- Cornish Clotted Cream Shortbread
- Classic Cream Scones Recipe
- Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle Cake
- English Crumpets with Maple Pecan Butter
- Classic Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe
- Kedgeree
- The Best Cottage Pie Recipe
Add The View from Great Island as a Trusted Google Source
British Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Video
Equipment
- 8 inch cake pan (the original recipe uses a 6 inch cake ring.)
Ingredients
for the cake
- 8 ounces British tea biscuits , (I used McVities Digestive Biscuits.)
- 6 ounces butter, at room temperature
- 6 ounces white sugar, (caster sugar in the UK)
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, melted
chocolate topping
- 8 ounces dark chocolate, melted
garnish, optional
- mini chocolate chips. You could also use chocolate sprinkles, or chocolate curls.
Instructions
- Butter or spray your pan, then line with plastic wrap, with long ends. This will make it easier to invert after the cake chills.
- Break or chop your biscuits into pieces. The original recipe says to break them into pieces the size of almonds. I chopped mine a little larger than that. Set aside.
- Cream the soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the melted chocolate until everything is completely combined.
- Fold in the chopped biscuits until they are evenly distributed.
- Spread the mixture into your prepared pan. You want to make sure to fill all the nooks and crannies so there are no air pockets. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours. Note: You could also leave it overnight.
- When the cake has chilled, run an offset spatula or other thin blunt knife along the edge to loosed the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert onto a rack that is set over a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the plastic.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the top and sides of the cake, using an offset spatula to smooth it out. Add your garnish, if using, while the chocolate is still wet.
- Allow the topping to set at cool room temperature before slicing.
- The cake can be stored at room temperature, but for overnight I would refrigerate it. Let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes for easier slicing.
This came out perfectly! It’s a great recipe especially if you love chocolate! I’m not sure yet how much I like it because of the amount of butter in it. If I make it again I’ll put a chocolate ganache on it because the straight chocolate gets very hard and hard to cut through. I’d also cut back on the amount of chocolate on top. I ordered the biscuits from Amazon. Thank you for a fun and easy recipe.
Amazing recipe
I bet Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies would be great in this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Perfect!
Sue, once again you manage to present a recipe with beautiful photos in easy to understand steps. I published the same recipe in my March Tea Travels™ column tribute to the Queen’s Jubilee, but your post made it come to life for the home cook. For those who can’t find ingredient locally, AMAZON is worth a try.
Thanks so much Ellen!
I can’t get digestive biscuits where I live. Could you please recommend what I should use? I can’t get what you use for the base of non cook cakes either.
Thank you.
Any plain cracker will probably work, even graham crackers in a pinch. I mentioned to another reader that maybe Nilla Wafers might be a good choice.
Sometimes “World Market” carry them.
World Market is a great resource for British foods.
I really appreciate the measurements given by weight. My kitchen scale is a cherished kitchen tool! I find it the most accurate way to measure; and it gives me the best results.
I live in a rather rural area in the The White Mountains of Arizona. If I can’t find wheat biscuits can I use mini Kit Kat bars or would that be overload?
Hi Karen! I wouldn’t use KitKats. I would look for a plain cracker, it’s possible that plain graham crackers would work. Nilla Wafers might work, too.
This sounds delicious, Sue! I’m going to try it. What do you think about substituting ginger snaps for the British tea biscuits?
That would definitely work. Just about any crisp plain cookie would probably work.
I can’t use Darren McGrady’s recipes. His measurement are done in a weird way, and grams measurement for his scones recipe was off as much as 30grams and needless to say major fail. I am afraid to try any recipes again.
Not sure about his other recipes but this one worked fine. I did adjust the amounts only because my 8″ pan is larger.
Hi…I’d love to try this cake but need amounts in cups. I don’t know if the volume mentioned is liquid measure or weight measure. . Can you convert it to cups.tablespoons for me?
I’ve used weight measurements. The cookies cannot be measured in cups, but the McVities comes in an 8.8 ounce box, which is about 16 biscuits. 6 ounces of butter is 12 tablespoons. 6 ounces of sugar is just over 3/4 cups. 6 ounces of chocolate would be about a cup if you are using chips.
Good Lord! You can Google this yourself; it’s especially easy if you use Google Voice, or the equivalent on the system you’re using. For example, say “How many tablespoons iis 6oz. of butter?” The reply will be given in seconds! I use this at LEAST once a day, for everything from measurements, pan size conversions, substitutions, to “What time is it in Tokyo now?”, for example. Try it. It’s a life changer!
I love your reply about the way to find measurements! I mean really! it’s so simple to do even without a device. This recipe is a must try ASAP. Thank you! I will let you know how it turns out.