Vegan Biscuit Cake

Today’s serving is my interpretation of Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite cake – chocolate biscuit cake! As a hobbyist baker, my favourite type of desserts of those that require the least effort but have the biggest payoff and this biscuit cake is no exception. This dairy-free, nut-free and completely vegan dessert comes together within a couple hours and requires only 6 ingredients! 

If you’re not a fan of chocolate then not to fret – check out my other recipes here! Alternatively, check out my chocolate archives here if this biscuit cake doesn’t tickle your fancy!

Baking tips:

This vegan chocolate biscuit cake is fairly foolproof as it requires no baking, no difficult tools or techniques and can be whipped up in 2 hours! However, I know I’ve made some silly mistakes on easy recipes before so here are some tips and tricks to make sure your cake is picture perfect!

1. Do follow the recipe as described! It’s a very simple recipe but it can become a sticky mess if you don’t do the steps in the right order. A good example is mixing the cocoa powder with the plant milk; if you throw it all together the cocoa powder will clump and it will be hard to make smooth. 

2. Try to use a good quality vegan butter and chocolate. The ideal butter has at least 75% fat. The butter here is mainly here for flavour but if it’s too “light” it will affect the final texture. I use Naturli or Flora baking block.

3. Don’t skip the sea salt. I know it seems odd adding salt to desserts but when all the elements are sweet, you need a pinch of salt for balance.

4. I used Rich tea biscuits for this recipe which is the classic choice for a biscuit cake. This however results in a soft texture as the biscuits are very dry and they absorb a lot of the moisture. If you want more of a crunch or unique flavour profile then go for gingernut biscuits or digestives! If you are outside the UK reading this, graham crackers will work too. Rich tea biscuits are often vegan but do check the label before you buy them!

5. Do use a baking tin with a removable bottom. This can be a spring-form pan or a loose-bottom. It is *possible* to use a regular cake tin but you’ll have to turn it upside down and careful drop onto a plate which could cause breakage.

6. The cake will be fairly tricky to remove from the cake tin so I use a blowtorch to warm up the edges. You could also use a warm tea towel wrapped around the tin.

7. The higher the cocoa % in the chocolate the firmer the cake and ganache will set. I use a bar with around ~55% cocoa solids. 

If you’re in the UK, I’ve provided a list below with some of the key ingredients I’ve used…

Ingredients:

• For the golden syrup I use the Silver spoon brand. If you’re outside the UK, golden syrup can be swapped for corn syrup or any inverted sugar syrup. 
• My go-to vegan block butter is the one from Naturli.
• For the plant milk, I used Alpro soy milk but you can use another other of the plant milks such as oat or rice if you need to be soy/nut free!
• As mentioned above, I used Rich tea biscuits for this recipe. Do check the label before you buy them as not all of them are vegan.

For this recipe you’ll need:

• 8-inch springform/loose-bottom cake tin 

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Vegan Biscuit Cake

July 6, 2021

Servings: 12

Prep: 20 min

Cook:

Total: 2 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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This vegan Biscuit cake is a plant-based twist on the classic chocolate biscuit cake much adored by Queen Elizabeth II. It is rich, decadent and a chocolate-lover's dream.

By: Project Vegan Baking

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 500g vegan Digestive biscuits
• 250g vegan butter
• 220g golden syrup
• 50g cocoa powder
• 120g dark chocolate, chopped
• 160ml plant milk (or brewed coffee)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Ganache:
• 150g dark chocolate, chopped
• 100ml plant milk
• 40g vegan butter

Directions

• Step 1 Grease an 8” inch loose-bottom cake tin and line it with parchment.
• Step 2 Crush up the biscuits into 1-2cm size pieces. Each biscuit should be crushed into at least 6-8 smaller chunks.
• Step 3 Place the vegan butter in a pot on the stove and turn on a medium-low heat. Stir until it’s fully melted.
• Step 4 Add the chocolate, golden syrup and sea salt and continue to stir until the chocolate is melted and the ingredients are fully incorporated. Turn off the heat.
• Step 5 In a separate bowl, mix the cocoa powder with the plant milk until the cocoa powder is completely dissolved. It will be a thick paste. Add this mix into the other ingredients and stir until completely incorporated.
• Step 6 Finally add in the chopped biscuits and gently stir. It will be extremely messy but just make sure all the biscuits are covered in chocolate.
• Step 7 Pour this mix into the lined cake tin and pack it in until there are no air gaps between biscuits and you can flatten the top of the cake. Place it in the fridge for 2 hours to set.
• Step 8 Meanwhile, work on the ganache. Place the plant milk and vegan butter in a pot on the stove and turn on a low heat. Heat up the milk until it is steamy and the butter has completely melted.
• Step 9 Pour this over the chopped chocolate in a separate bowl. Set aside for 2 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Once it has melted, give it a stir until it is completely smooth.
• Step 10 Take the cake out of the fridge. If you have used a loose-bottom pan, use a blowtorch or warm towel to warm up the sides so the cake can slide out. If it is a spring-form pan then just open up the pan and place it on a plate.
• Step 11 Pour the ganache over the cake, making sure to fill in any cracks or bumpy texture made from the chunks of biscuits. Smooth it out with an offset spatula and place back in the fridge (in an airtight container ideally) to set for 30 minutes.
• Step 12 Serve!