No-cook cakes – or Refrigerator Cakes – are easy and simple for adults and kids to make. They’re wickedly indulgent and full of energy, so they’re useful packed lunch and picnic treats. Try our step-by-step recipe and learn to adapt the recipe for your own family.
Classic Refrigerator Cake – And Some Variations
Refrigerator cake is a famous favourite of school fêtes and family occasions. It doesn’t really resemble a cake – this stir-and-set concoction is more like a chewy, homemade chocolate bar. Rocky Road is the American term for the same cake, and the classic recipe for Rocky Road is given below.
Makes Enough To Fill A 30x20cm Tin. You Need:
- 4tbsp golden syrup
- 200g (7oz) plain chocolate
- 150g (5oz) milk chocolate
- 150g (5oz) unsalted butter
- 175g (6oz) plain, oat biscuits, crushed
- 150g (5oz) raisins
- 150g (5oz) sultanas
Line your tray with clingfilm and put it aside. Weigh out the biscuits and put them into a large plastic sandwich bag. Seal it and use a rolling pin to crush the biscuits. (This step can also be done in a food processor.) Weigh out the raisins and sultanas and put them aside ready.
Melt the chocolate, syrup and butter in a pan over a low heat. (To save sticky spills, warm a metal spoon on the hob before using it to measure out the golden syrup – the syrup will plop cleanly off the warm spoon.) When the mixture is smooth and molten, tip in the biscuits and stir quickly.
Continuing to work quickly, tip in the sultanas and raisins and stir thoroughly. As soon as everything is evenly mixed, tip it into the prepared pan and smooth it out with a spatula. Now leave the tray in the fridge to cool: once set, cut it into squares and enjoy!
Variation – Rocky Road
The wonderful thing about Refrigerator Cake is that you can adapt it to your family’s likes and dislikes. Rocky Road is an American version of the cake, typically including marshmallows and nuts.
Method:
- Swap the digestives in the recipe for 175g Rich Tea biscuits and replace the fruit with 150g chopped marshmallows and 150g chopped brazil nuts.
- Don’t be afraid to tinker with the nuts and fruit: ditch the brazils in favour of pecans or chopped almonds, add some glace cherries, leave out the marshmallows – whatever you like.
- Just keep the basic template of butter, chocolate, biscuit and syrup, and you can play around with the pieces in your own way.
Variation – White Chocolate And Cranberry
You can also make a white chocolate version studded with dried cranberries (or gojii berries, if your health store carries them).
Method:
- Replace the chocolates with 350g white chocolate.
- Replace the sultanas and raisins with 200g dried cranberries, plus 100g chopped pecan nuts.
- If you like, you could also drizzle the finished cake with melted dark chocolate – for a stylish finish.
Variation – Baileys Refrigerator Cake
For a grown-up version of Fridge Cake, add some Baileys and extra nuts to the mixture.
Method:
- Use white chocolate in place of the milk and dark chocolates in the recipe.
- Reduce the golden syrup to 2tbsp and add an extra 150ml Baileys Irish Cream to the pan after melting the butter and chocolate.
- Replace the sultanas and raisins with 300g chopped pecans and brazils or other nuts of your choice.
Naughty but Nice!
For more deliciously indulgent recipes, try our Perfect Choc Chip Cookies, Decadent Chocolate Delight and Chocolate Cupcakes.
