'Zero Baking' Challenge

When Sarah, who blogs over at Maison Cupcake (check it out!) announced a new 'Zero-Baking Required' blogging challenge (you can find the details here) I knew it was time to make fridge cake. It's is so wonderfully simple and involves absolutely no skill or precision but it is delicious! My mum makes this a lot, especially if she is having lots of people round as it makes a cute little nibble and is a huge crowd pleaser!


When I went to make it as a Sunday evening activity however, I realised I had not copied down my mum's recipe. Confused that I could have made such a dreadful error and unable to call her as she was on holiday in France, I did a quick google search in the hope that I might find find the recipe somewhere out there on the interweb.


There were plenty of tiffin recipes but not quite what I was looking for. So in the end I 'baked' from memory and added a few of my own touches.


I crushed 300g plain biscuits (we usually use up whatever's in the biscuit tin... if there is anything!). Melt 2oz butter and 4 tbsp golden syrup in a bigger saucepan than you think you need (!) then remove from the heat and stir I the crushed biscuits. Add 2/3 tablespoons cocoa powder and stir until it covers the mixture. Add in as many sultanas and peanuts as you fancy. (My mum usually uses sultanas and cherries in her version but I love nuts and had plenty in my baking cupboard!). I lined and greased a shallow baking tin and tipped in the mixture. I then used the back of a metal spoon to squash it down, trying to keep it an even thickness. I left it in the fridge overnight but you probably don't need to leave it for that long.


Usually I would cover the cake with melted dark chocolate but I liked the idea of having a colour contrast so decided to use white chocolate. I threw some extra peanuts into a non-stick frying pan along with some brown sugar and tossed them over a medium heat for a few minutes. I then let them cool and place them on the white chocolated whilst it was still melted. Back in the fridge until the chocolate sets et voila :)

I was pretty happy with the result. It was a bit crumbly so I think I got the proportions slightly wrong and it might have needed a bit more butter or golden syrup but considering they were all guesswork I thought they turned out ok.