Choc Ripple Birthday Cake
The Age
Tuesday March 4, 2003
• I'd forgotten the joy of this stalwart until I ate it at a friend's daughter's birthday party recently. The party was in a park and the cake easily fulfilled the prerequisites for the occasion - durability and attractive, edible decorations.
• Making a chocolate ripple cake is akin to bricklaying. It's just a matter of gluing the bickies together with whipped cream and creating the shape of the cake from there. The easiest is a round shape formed by a tin with legs, wings or petals added, or whatever design you and/or the guest of honour might fancy. Snakes, worms and numbers would be easy, too - no tin required, just sandwich the biscuits and cream vertically following the desired shape.
• For a round 20cm tin, you will need:
2 pkts chocolate ripple biscuits
800ml thickened cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 dash of vanilla essence
• Cut a round of non-stick baking paper to line the bottom of the tin. Line this snugly with biscuits, including broken bits to fill gaps. Whip the cream and spread a layer over biscuits about 1cm thick, repeating the layers all the way up the tin, finishing with a layer of cream (reserving some cream for later). Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, run a knife around the cake and turn out on to a serving platter or board, removing baking paper lining. Spread remaining cream over the outside of the cake. Decorate to your heart's content with lollies, liquorice, etc.
© 2003 The Age
