Biscuits & Chocolate Birthday Cake

Happy birthday to me! 

I'm turning 34 today. 34. Twentytfourteen. 

I always have mixed feelings when my birthday is approaching. I'm happy, but I also feel sad. I know I've been lucky enough to live for a whole year but that also means I'm a year older. This always ends up with me feeling a bit miserable the week before, pretending I'm feelingless the previous day, and overexcited as soon as the sun rises on the 12th. Don't blame me, I'm a Gemini. 

This morning I've woke up being 34th years old, and I say this without cringing. 34, wow. That is a lot of years!

I've looked at my reflection on the mirror and all I've seen is the same everyday face. The same brown eyes, the same freckles. I've came back to bed and my two boys have jumped on me singing happy birthday giving me the best of the presents.

It has been an interesting journey so far, and I can’t wait to see what this brand new year has to bring. I feel really fortunate to all the great people that has been with me during this year, specially my two sons and my amazing husband. But I also miss my dad desperately, and sometimes I feel guilty of being enjoying life so much without him. 

So in order to  put me in a celebratory mood, I've prepared this week’s recipe. In fact I've prepared it twice, one for me, one for my peeps at the office. This is the traditional Spanish birthday cake. No oven, no skills required whatsoever, perfect to prepare with children and high in chocolate. A sure win for any birthday party!

WHAT YOU NEED

2 or 3 Packets of Plain biscuits (rich tea or malted milk depending if your mould is round or squared)
500ml Whole Milk

3 bars Dark Cooking Chocolate

50gr Chopped Hazelnuts + 50 for decoration
350ml Thick Custard

Optional- half glass of your favourite spirit (rum, brandy, etc.)

WHAT YOU DO

Line a round or squared deep mould with tin foil, this will help to unmould the cake. 

Melt the chocolate and pour enough to cover the bottom of the mould (around 0.5cm). This will be the top of your cake when finished.

Warm up the milk and pour in a deep bowl. Add the spirit of your choice. Soak the biscuits, one by one, and put them in the mould until covering the chocolate entirely. If there is any gaps between cakes, fill them with biscuits crumbs. Tip: when soaking the biscuits, do it just for a couple of seconds, so the cake is not too soaked.

Pour some custard on top until covering all the biscuits. A thin coat will do.

Then add another layer of chocolate and repeat the process. Add the chopped hazelnuts to one of the chocolate layers.

Finish with a thicker coat of chocolate. Cover the mould with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 5 hours to set. Better if you leave it overnight. 

To unmould, put a plate (that should be slightly bigger than the mould) and flip the cake over. Remove all the tin foil and decorate with the extra hazelnuts.

When serving, the top chocolate layer will crack, similar to a creme brûlée. 

This cake will last up to 3 days in the fridge.