Crunchy Chocolate Cake
Submitted by pdooley
No-bake chocolate cake with melted chocolate, butter, crushed cookies, candied fruit, cherries, and almonds. Refrigerate overnight for a dense, fudgy slice.
YIELD
24 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
20 minREADY
8 hrsThis is a no-bake chocolate cake that’s closer to a refrigerator fudge than a traditional cake. Melted chocolate and butter get folded with beaten eggs, crushed butter cookies, candied fruit, quartered cherries, blanched almonds, and a hint of orange zest, then chilled overnight until firm enough to slice.
The crushed cookies give it the “crunchy” in the name. Coarsely crushed is the right call here. Pulverized cookies would dissolve into the chocolate, but bigger shards maintain their texture through the overnight chill, creating buttery, crispy pockets throughout the dense chocolate base.
Eight hours of refrigeration isn’t a suggestion. The eggs and butter need that time to set the chocolate into a sliceable, fudge-like consistency. Pull it out too early and it’s a beautiful mess. Pull it out just right and you get clean, gorgeous wedges.
Pro Tips
- Cut thin wedges. The recipe warns about this for good reason. This cake is extremely rich, and a sliver goes further than you’d expect.
- Serve straight from the fridge. It softens fast at room temperature and becomes impossible to slice cleanly. Keep it cold until the moment you cut.
- Melt the chocolate gently over barely simmering water. Chocolate that gets too hot seizes and turns grainy.
- Use real butter cookies like Danish-style or shortbread. Cheap sandwich cookies add too much sweetness and the wrong texture.
Variations
- Rum-soaked fruit: Soak the candied fruit and cherries in dark rum for an hour before adding for a boozy, holiday-worthy version.
- Hazelnut swap: Replace almonds with toasted hazelnuts and add a tablespoon of Frangelico for a chocolate-hazelnut twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Grease an 8inch round springform pan.
Line the base with waxed paper and grease the paper.
Put chocolate and butter in top of double boiler.
Place over simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted.
Set aside to cool slightly.
In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Slowly stir in melted chocolate, then stir in candied fruit peel, cherries, almonds and orange peel.
Add the coarsely crushed cookies and stir them in gently.
Pour the batter into prepared pan.
Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, until firm.
Loosen edge of cake and remove side of pan.
Cut cake into wedges and serve.
NOTES:
Do not let the cake stand at room temperature too long as it softens and becomes difficult to slice and serve.
Do not be tempted to cut large wedges; this cake is very very rich!
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