Honestly why should all the pomp and circumstance be reserved for the royal family? While watching all of the British hoopla unfold on television one particular detail caught my eye: the groomscake. A towering chocolate confection, this cake is supposedly Prince William’s favorite, a chocolatey cake containing biscuits. Just then it hit me that this cake is also the “Lazy Cake” popular all over Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, even the United Arab Emirates, so why not do a short tutorial video of this spectacular cake?
You can bring a taste of Britain and the Middle East to your home easily. You see, these two parts of the world are still connected because of the past British colonization of the Middle East. Hence the reason my grandmother has teatime with English biscuits in the little town of Bethlehem. Weird huh? But when life gives you biscuits, you make biscuit cake. You can even have a hat party where everyone wears their crazy or stylish hat of choice while you dig into this unique confection with a spot of tea. This cake is called “lazy” because it doesn’t require any baking.
A lot of British recipes call for a raw egg and heavy cream. In the Middle East they use condensed milk instead, just the way I like it. I also put in my own twist by adding Nutella, which is also a substitute for the excess butter used in the traditional recipe. For instance my recipe calls for ½ stick of butter, but if you do away with the Nutella you should add another ½ stick of butter. Unless you want a fancier presentation (like topping with a chocolate ganache or more melted Nutella) this cake is fine on its own, presented as slices with a garnish of fruit or ice cream. This cake is like a big, decadent, fudgy candy bar. Simply put, this is a fusion of cookie, candy and cake. Whatever you don’t eat, you can freeze for later indulgences. Check out my video tutorial below on how to make the cake–as you can see I got kind of carried away with the campy hat. 🙂
Lazy Cake
- Chocolate Nutella Lazy Cake
- Serves 12
36 Marie biscuits or 20 English digestive biscuits, - 1/2 stick butter, melted
- 2/3 C condensed milk
- 3 tbs. powdered sugar
- 4 tbs. cocoa
- ½ cup Nutella
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Take the cookies and place in a large plastic bag. Pound them with your fist or a mallet until they resemble coarse cookies crumbs. Set aside. Mix condensed milk, cocoa, sugar, melted butter, chocolate chips, and Nutella in a bowl. Microwave for about 1 minute, then mix until smooth. Gradually fold in cookie crumbs. Form into cylinder or press into cake pan that has been lined with wax paper. Cover with plastic wrap and either refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, slice into circles or wedges.