Royal Wedding Groom's Cake

If you're anything like me and kept up to date with absolutely ever last detail of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, you probably know about the cakes (yes, multiple cakes for you non-royal watchers out there).  There was, of course, the traditional English wedding cake with lots of tiers and incredibly intricate decorations.  For this particular wedding, it was so massive and impeccably decorated that I'd say it more closely resembled a sculpture than a cake!

But, it was the other cake that caught my attention. At the very end of the press release announcing the designed of the big fancy sculpture cake was a small note: "The couple have also asked McVitie's Cake Company to create a chocolate biscuit cake for the reception at Buckingham Palace. The chocolate biscuit cake will be made from a Royal Family recipe and was specially requested by Prince William." My first thought was, "Royal Family recipe?  You mean they actually cook??"  But then my second thought was, "What on earth is a chocolate biscuit cake?  And where can I find this recipe to make it?"

Enter my dear friend Michele.

Without even being asked or hearing about my curiosity about this cake, she found a recipe on a blog she enjoys and posted it on my wall on Facebook!  One look at the recipe made me realize I wasn't going to eat an entire cake of this stuff (it's seriously rich...but oh so good!), so I made it cupcake-sized.  So, for all of my fellow Americans out there curious about this decadent delight that is chocolate biscuit cake...here is my slightly altered version!

Chocolate Biscuit Cake (Royal Wedding Groom's Cake)
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
3/4 c. + 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
15 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate (I used a blend of Ghirardelli and Nestle's new dark chocolate chips)
6 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp. golden syrup (I used Lyle's, which I found at Cost Plus World Market)
1 7oz. package butter biscuits, chopped (I used Leibniz, also found at Cost Plus World Market)

Glaze:
4 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

For the cake, prepare a cupcake pan with liners.  Over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate.  Once heated thoroughly and smooth, stir in the heavy cream and golden syrup.  Remove from heat and stir in butter biscuits.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared cupcake cups.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

For the glaze, place heavy cream and light corn syrup in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then pour over the bittersweet chocolate.  Mix until silky and smooth, then pour over the individual cakes.  Refrigerate 30 minutes to let the glaze set.

There you have it!  Apparently the royals must not be terribly high maintenance, because it's quite a simple recipe to make!  Since it requires no actual baking, it's easy to adapt to other size pans or molds.  This recipe makes enough for about 12 cupcake-sized cakes.  

Congratulations, William and Kate!  And William...thanks for introducing us to such a great dessert!!

<3 Riley