Chocolate Biscuit Cake (No Bake Lazy Cake)
Chocolate biscuit cake is one of the easiest, no fuss, tastiest desserts around! It’s rich and chocolaty, with a nice crunch courtesy of the biscuits. No baking and minimal effort needed!
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Are you all ready for one of the greatest desserts to ever exist?? Chocolate biscuit cake combines the 2 best things about any dessert: chocolate and ease!
This chocolate biscuit cake is also sometimes (appropriately) called lazy cake, because of how easy it comes together! All it involves is breaking up some cookies (without any real method … you can break them up however you like!), making a simple chocolate sauce, and (optional, but highly recommended) topping everything off with a silky chocolate ganache.
The only … and I mean only … downside to lazy cake is the waiting! The cake needs to chill for at least 4 hours so it slices cleanly. But I’d be lying if I said I don’t take a few “chef’s treats” during the prep … It’s part of the perks of cooking.
But seriously. This cake looks outrageously fancy and complex, but it’s almost fail-proof! And oh so brag worthy.
Lazy cake ingredients:
For the actual biscuit cake, you’ll need:
- digestive biscuits: I used Maria biscuits, but you can really use any digestive biscuit or tea biscuit you like
- sugar
- cocoa powder: Natural or Dutch processed would work
- milk
- butter: The butter not only adds flavor, but it helps it set in the fridge, while still keeping it sliceable!
- vanilla extract: an optional flavor boost!
The chocolate ganache used here is a variation of our chocolate ganache for frosting. The main differences are that 1) it’s a half batch and 2) we use less cream so it sets up more firm. For the ganache, you will need:
- semi-sweet chocolate: Make sure it’s chocolate from the baking isle, that’s actually meant for melting. The best chocolate for melting should be labeled either “Baker’s” or “couverture” chocolate. Regular chocolate chips don’t melt smoothly so I would steer clear of them!
- heavy cream: FULL fat is a must! At least 30% to give you a smooth ganache
How to make chocolate biscuit cake:
Start by lining the sides and bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper. A spring form pan makes it a million times easier to get this cake out, but you can use a regular cake pan as well. Just make sure you leave some plastic wrap or parchment paper hanging over the sides so you can pull the cake out with ease! Set aside.
Break up your digestive biscuits into smaller pieces and place in a large bowl. Set aside as well.
I usually break my cookies up 3 to 4 times. The size you make the cookies really depends on how large or small you’d like them to be in the cake. Just as long as they’re not overly small or large, you won’t have any issues!
To make the chocolate sauce, combine sugar and cocoa powder in a large saucepot. Whisk to combine (this helps break up some of the clumps from the cocoa powder). Gradually add the milk the the pot, whisking well to avoid clumps. Then add the butter in.
Place the pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool slightly (about 10 minutes).
Pour the chocolate sauce over the cookies. Stir until all of the cookies are coated in chocolate. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Press and smoothen the top to compress the cookies into a cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set aside. Warm the cream in a saucepot over medium heat, until it just starts to bubble along the sides. Take care not to let it boil or it’ll be too hot for the chocolate!
Pour the warm cream over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes to steep. Stir until the chocolate is melted and you’re left with a smooth glaze.
Take your chilled cake out of the pan and transfer to your serving plate. Pour the ganache overtop the cake and spread to smoothen. Slice and serve!
Chocolate biscuit cake storage:
This lazy cake should be kept in the fridge because it’ll soften at room temperature. The cake will last for up to 1 week in the fridge covered. Any longer than that and the cookies start to lose their crunch.
If you liked this chocolate biscuit cake, you may like some of these other easy no bake desserts:
Chocolate Biscuit Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the biscuit cake:
- 400 grams (14 ounces) digestive biscuits
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 & 1/4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
For the chocolate ganache topping:
- 4 ounces (about 1/2 a cup) semi-sweet Baker's or couverture chocolate, roughly chopped * see notes
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- For the chocolate biscuit cake: Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, break up the digestive biscuits into smaller pieces. Set aside.
- In a large saucepot, combine the sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk to incorporate and break up any large pieces of cocoa. Gradually add your milk to the sugar and cocoa mixture, whisking well after each addition. Add the butter to the pot as well.
- Place the pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and the mixture starts boiling. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in vanilla extract. Let the chocolate sauce cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour the chocolate sauce over the biscuit pieces. Stir until all of the biscuits are coated in the mixture. Transfer the chocolate/biscuit mix to your prepared spring form pan. Press the mixture down to compress the cookies together and to smoothen the top. Cover, and chill for at least 4 hours to set the cake.
- For the chocolate ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- Pour the cream into a small saucepot, and place the pot over medium heat. Warm the cream until it just barely starts to form bubbles along the sides. Don't boil! Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and let sit for 5 minutes to steep. Gently mix until smooth. ** (see notes)
- Pull your cake out of the pan, and transfer to your serving plate or stand. Pour the ganache over the top, and spread to cover the top of the cake. Slice and serve!
Notes
Enjoy!
