Recipe for our famous chocolate biscuit cake!!

As many of my friends and customers know, there's a mainstay on the cake stand at The Green Sheep..... our Chocolate Biscuit Cake is famous all over Ireland and flies off the shelf ..... we even get requests to post it abroad! 

Now, as my friends also know {too well}, recipes aren't an exact science in Lulu Land and this one is no exception. Play with it, change it to your tastes but the basics are always the same. 

We'll start with about 300g of caster sugar. Or soft brown sugar. Or whatever sugar you have, each sugar will change the taste slightly. Throw that in a large saucepan.

Then, grab yourself a full pack of Irish Creamery butter(450g) .... preferably from Tipperary Co-op ..... and toss that into the pan with the sugar and melt it all together. Stirring all the time so it gets all combined and caramelly.

Next up grab a container of powdered plain cocoa ... fair trade if you can,

Pour the butter and sugar mixture into the bowl of your mixer (its still very hot so don't pour it down yourself in the process)  and add 5ish table spoons of cocoa powder, turn on the mixer! When it's all combined, pop an egg in there and mix on high. 

The mixture should be glossy, falling away from the sides and thick but pourable. If it separates - add a gloop of cream.  If it's not glossy enough - add a tiny bit more melted butter.

Pour half the mixture into a large bowl and break  two packets of rich tea biscuits into it, then a packet of tuc. Pour the remaining mixture on top and stir well, coating each biscuit piece.

Find your loaf tins and line with baking parchment; pour the biscuit mix into the tins, cover with more parchment and push the mix down with the heel of your hand until it's squished. Add more mix if required.

Shove your cakes in the freezer for a couple of hours and have some lovely coffee ......

Sometimes I do this and sometimes not, but for 'special' cakes I put a layer of melted dark chocolate on top. Do this when the cake is frozen and then stick back in the freezer, A teaspoon of coconut oil in the chocolate at the melting stage gives a lovely shine!

When it comes to serve the chocolate biscuit cake, centimetre slices are the optimum size. If you want to tart this recipe up I suggest candied pecans in the mix or raisins, an espresso to make a mocha effect or what is very yummy is some gingernut biscuits through it.

Happy 'almost' baking ........