DARK CHOCOLATE, PECAN & CHERRY SLAB

Happy New Year from chilly San Francisco. We’re lucky enough to be adventuring here again visiting family (while also longing for some Kiwi heat!). Here’s a delicious recipe for a simple, no-bake chocolate biscuit slab. We devoured it Christmas day but it’s so good we’re making it again for New Years. It’s a slight variation of London bakery Konditor & Cook’s chocolate biscuit cake, it requires no baking and is super quick to make – you just need a little patience while it sets in the fridge. Feel free to mix up the pecans and cherries to whatever you fancy (e.g walnuts, dried apricots, saltanas would be fab) Enjoy x

150g unsalted butter

100g golden syrup

200g dark chocolate, over 60% cocoa

1 medium egg, lightly beaten

200g digestive biscuits

100g pecan nuts

150g glacé cherries

Line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a pot and bring to the boil. Add the chocolate, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and stir with a whisk until the chocolate has melted. Gradually add the beaten egg and continue to stir until the mixture has thickened a little and formed a shiny emulsion. The egg will cook in the heat of the mixture but be careful not to let it boil. Remove from the heat.

Break up the biscuits into large chunks (quarters are fine), put them in a bowl and add the pecans and cherries. Pour the hot chocolate mix over the dry ingredients and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and press the mixture flat in the tin.
Chill for three hours or until set, then cut into slabs.

Gretchen Lowe, Food Stylist Auckland