Famous Faces’ Favourite Fancies - Chocolate and ginger tiffin

 

If you’ve turned on the television before 9.30am at any point in time since 1984, the chances are you will have come across LorraineKelly.  I did an almost comic double take when I read that – 1984!  Lorraine Kelly has been getting up before the crack of dawn for 28 years to present live breakfast telly...and somehow looks younger now than when she started!

Fast approaching national treasure status (if not indeed already there) and famed for her infectious giggle, what I love about Lorraine is her ability to do funny and serious with equal success and her warmth – something that is often lacking in television.  Of course, the fact that she selected her favourite fancy as anything including chocolate and ginger didn’t hurt either...a woman after my own heart!

I chose a no-bake tiffin as it seemed the best of all worlds – biscuity, fruity, nutty, gingery and chocolaty.  I think that’s enough of words ending in ‘y’!  I mixed milk and dark chocolate for the topping but you can use whichever blend you choose.  Here it is before the chocolate:

The chocolate sets nice and thickly on the top and requires a satisfying amount of pressure to bite through it, at which point you are rewarded with a biscuity mixture of fruit and nuts.  Using ginger nut biscuits adds an extra punch of flavour but you could use plainer biscuits if you preferred.  You have to love something that you can leave a set of teeth marks in:

Ingredients

For the base:

225g ginger nut biscuits
125g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
25g cocoa powder
80g raisins
75g toasted flaked almonds

For the topping:

200g chocolate – I used half dark, half milk, but you can use all dark or all milk if you prefer

Method

Have ready a 20cm x 13cm disposable foil tin.  I bought mine in the local supermarket – there were three in the pack and it came with a cardboard lid.

Crush the ginger nut biscuits in the food processor or using a bag and a rolling pin.  If using the processor, pulse, because you want a mixture of crumbs and lumps of biscuit – don’t treat it like you’re making a biscuit base for a cheesecake.

Place the butter and golden syrup in a large saucepan and melt together, stirring occasionally so that the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan.

NB. When weighing out the flaked almonds give them a squeeze in your clenched hand to crush them a little – it will make the finished tiffin easier to cut.

Tip the biscuits into the melted butter along with the cocoa, raisins and almonds.

Stir until well combined then press into the foil tray.  Press down so the mixture feels compact.

Cover and refrigerate.

When cold and hard, make the topping: melt the chocolate either in short bursts in the microwave (my preferred method) or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water – take care that the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

Pour the melted chocolate over the set base and spread to ensure an even covering.

Leave to set (no need to refrigerate but it won’t do it any harm – just might take the gloss off the chocolate).

Cut into bars and enjoy with a cup of tea.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.