Prince William's Favorite Chocolate Biscuit Cake

I had been waiting for an opportunity to make The Royal Touch Chocolate Biscuit Cake by Darren McGrady (chef to Queen Elizabeth) since I first heard about it around the time of William and Katherine's wedding.  Father's Day was just such an opportunity - my husband loves all things chocolate, and we had all the kids home for dinner so I knew I wouldn't have a lot of leftover cake through the week. 

Most of you probably know by now that this is the cake Prince William requested as his Groom's Cake.  It's apparently a favorite of Queen Elizabeth's as well - Grady reports she ordered it every time Prince William would join her for tea. 

Although this is a no-bake cake, you'll need to prepare it at least 4 or 5 hours ahead of time.  It stores nicely in the refrigerator for several days once made (sits well covered at room temperature for several days too).  Chef McGrady suggests serving it chilled, but my family enjoyed it best at room temperature.  Either way, it's incredibly rich so serve very thin slices with plenty of coffee, tea, or milk.

Coincidentally, I just learned that today is Prince William's birthday. I wonder if he’ll be enjoying this cake?

Prince William's Chocolate Biscuit Cake

makes one 6-inch cake (I used an 8x4 silicone loaf pan) or 8-12 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• Softened butter for greasing pan

• 8 ounces McVities tea biscuits, broken into pieces (or digestive biscuits - click here for a recipe to make your own)

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar (caster sugar)

• 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

• 1 egg, beaten

• 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (for icing)

• Cinnamon for dusting

Directions

1. Lightly grease a 6" spring form pan; set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until mixture has lightened in color.

3. Melt 4 ounces chocolate in a double boiler.

4. Add butter and sugar mixture to the chocolate whisking constantly.

5. Add the egg and continue to whisk.

6. Fold in biscuit pieces until they are completely coated with the chocolate mixture.

7. Spoon the chocolate coated biscuits into the prepared pan.

8. Press firmly with the back of a spoon to fill in any gaps (tap the pan on the counter to help settle the biscuit pieces) - the bottom of the cake will be the top when turned out. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

9. Unmold cake and rest, bottom side up, on a wire rack.

10. Melt remaining 8 ounces of chocolate and pour over the cake.

11. Spread smooth with an off-set spatula.

12. Allow chocolate coated cake to sit at room temperature until chocolate is set.

13. When set, run a spatula under the cake to remove from wire rack (chocolate makes it stick a little).

14. Transfer to a fancy serving platter; slice and serve.

Notes

• My 6-inch spring form pan seems to be missing in action, so I used an 8x4 silicone loaf pan which worked perfectly (and I think neat slices offer a more elegant presentation). An added bonus - chilled chocolate doesn't stick to silicone at all.

• One 8x4 cake will serve 16 1/2-inch slices.

• McVities (aka digestive biscuits) are a sandy textured wheat cookie from the UK. I found them here in the US in the international aisle at Wegman's. Graham crackers, arrowroot cookies, or chocolate wafers would all be nice substitutions. Or you can make your own - click here for the recipe.

• You can make your own superfine sugar from white granulated sugar - just blitz it in your food processor.

Darren McGrady:  A chocolate biscuit cake is not a traditional cake in the fresh-from-the-oven sense. It's essentially a chilled chocolate-butter mousse speckled with crushed cookies, then glazed in chocolate. "I used to prepare it for both [Prince William and the Queen] when they had tea together," explains McGrady via his blog . "The Queen would request the cake in the menu book for Sunday tea when she knew her grandson would be joining her from Eton."

McGrady says when afternoon tea included the chocolate biscuit cake, the staff knew not to dare touch the leftovers (it keeps well for several days in the fridge). "Her Majesty loves this cake so much she takes a mental picture of how much she is sending back to the kitchens each day," continues McGrady. "I remember her on one occasion instructing her page to call the kitchen to ask who had been eating her cake."

adapted from Darren McGrady, Eating Royally

To Die For Banana Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting (and a cake tip)

There was a time when I used to reserve overripe bananas to make banana bread, that is, until I sampled this banana cake.  Now I find myself buying extra bananas just so I'll have an excuse to make this amazing cake.  The batter can be mixed, baked, cooled, and ready to frost in about an hour.  The recipe was given to me by a friend a number of years ago and I added my own delectable frosting to compliment it perfectly - it's a flavor marriage made in heaven!  It's simply out of this world and you must give it a try.  

Note:  the photo above is a little deceiving - this is a snack cake, meaning it's only about an inch tall, but I promise, the flavor will more than win you over.  Also, don't miss my tips below to ensure your cake bakes without a big hump in the middle and releases from the pan perfectly.

Items used to make this recipe:

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• high quality pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3sSAaBM

• high quality pure vanilla bean paste https://amzn.to/3TU3RhT

• baker's joy https://amzn.to/3NsVGH3

• professional rectangular pan https://amzn.to/3T0TZBI

• professional square pan https://amzn.to/3SZNFdQ

• insulated baking strips https://amzn.to/3SFoUUY

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To Die For Banana Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting

makes one 8x8-inch pan (double recipe for a 9x13-inch pan)

Printable Recipe  

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)

• 1 large egg

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 3/4 cup mashed super ripe banana (about 2)

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (please use the good stuff - this one is my favorite)

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste (I like this one)

Directions

To make cake (is easily mixed by hand):

1. Preheat the oven to 375F (see note below).

2. Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and 2 tablespoons softened butter.

3. Add mashed bananas and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

4. Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well.

5. Pour into an 8x8-inch pan that has been sprayed with this baking spray.

6. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting:

1. Cream butter and confectioner's sugar together until smooth.

2. Slowly add the heavy cream and vanilla bean paste; stir until smooth.

3. Spread on top of cooled cake. Cake can be served at room temperature, but we like it best chilled.

Note

• Vanilla bean paste is awesome stuff - you can find it at gourmet groceries or you can order it online. Here's the general rule for substituting vanilla: 1 vanilla bean = 1 tablespoon vanilla powder = 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste = 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract.

• Bake at 350F if using a glass pan.

IMPORTANT TIPS

• To ensure the cake bakes without a hump, wrap the cake pan with insulated baking strips. I wouldn't dream of baking a cake without them!

• To ensure the cake releases from the pan perfectly, spray the pan with Baker's Joy. Again, I don't bake without it!

See how nice and even the insulated baking strips made the cake? No hump!! Happy-Happy.

See how perfectly the Baker's Joy helped the cake release from the pan? Again, Happy-happy! Glad I could share a couple of awesome tricks with you. Happy Baking!