Ingredients
Biscuit
- 200 gplain flour
- 30 gcocoa powder
- 40 gmalted milk powder (Horlicks or Ovaltine)
- ½ tspbaking powder
- ¼ tspsalt
- 150 gunsalted butter, softened
- 120 gcaster sugar
- 1egg yolk
- 1 tspvanilla extract
Filling
- 100 gunsalted butter, softened
- 180 gicing sugar
- 25 gcocoa powder
- 20 gmalted milk powder
- 2–3 tbspdouble cream
Coating
- 450 gmilk chocolate couverture (about 34% cocoa), chopped
Directions
- First, the honest context: Tim Tams are an Arnott’s factory biscuit, launched in 1964 and named after a horse that won the 1958 Kentucky Derby. What follows is the home reconstruction that Australian cooks make, matching the malted chocolate biscuit, chocolate cream and full chocolate enrobing.
- Beat the butter and caster sugar for 3 minutes until light, then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt and mix only until it comes together into a firm dough. Overworking makes the biscuits tough rather than short and snappy.
- Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper to an even 4 mm, chill flat for 30 minutes, then cut 32 rectangles of about 4 by 8 cm.
- Bake at 170°C (350°F) for 12–14 minutes, until the edges are firm and the biscuits smell toasty; they will still feel soft and will crisp as they cool. Cool completely on a rack, then chill.
- Beat all the filling ingredients to a thick, pipeable buttercream, adding cream a teaspoon at a time. Pipe or spread it 5 mm thick onto half the biscuits and sandwich with the rest, pressing until the filling reaches the edges. Chill 30 minutes until firm.
- Temper the chocolate: melt two thirds to 45°C (115°F), take it off the heat, stir in the remaining third until it drops to 27°C (80°F), then warm gently back to 31°C (90°F). Tempering is what gives the snap and the glossy shell that will not melt on your fingers.
- Drop each chilled sandwich into the chocolate, lift it out on a dipping fork, tap off the excess against the bowl and set it on baking paper. Leave at cool room temperature, not the fridge, for about 1 hour until the shell is set and shiny. Store in a tin.
Technique
- Malted milk powder is the flavour that identifies a Tim Tam. Without it you have made a chocolate biscuit, not this one.
- Chill the sandwiched biscuits before dipping. A soft filling squashes out under the dipping fork and streaks the chocolate.
- Tempering matters. Untempered chocolate sets dull and streaky with fat bloom, and it will not give the crisp crack that the Tim Tam Slam depends on.
- The Tim Tam Slam is a genuine national practice: bite off two diagonally opposite corners, dunk one end in hot coffee or tea, suck the drink up through the biscuit like a straw, and eat the whole thing the instant before it collapses.
Substitutions
- No couverture? Use good eating chocolate with at least 30% cocoa butter, melted carefully, and accept a softer shell.
- No malted milk powder? Increase the cocoa by 10 g and add 1 tsp of golden syrup to the dough, though the malt note will be missing.
Variations
- Double Coat, with a thicker chocolate shell, the most popular Australian variety.
- Dark chocolate Tim Tams, made with 55% couverture for the coating.
- Caramel-filled, with a layer of thick caramel under the chocolate cream.
History
Launched by Arnott’s in 1964 and named after a horse that won the 1958 Kentucky Derby, spotted by an executive travelling in America.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tim Tam?
Tim Tam is a snack from Australia: chocolate-coated biscuit sandwich with cream filling, sucked as a straw through coffee. Launched by Arnott’s in 1964 and named after a horse that won the 1958 Kentucky Derby, spotted by an executive travelling in America.
How long does Tim Tam take to make?
Tim Tam takes 50 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 16 biscuits. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Tim Tam?
Yes, within limits. No couverture? Use good eating chocolate with at least 30% cocoa butter, melted carefully, and accept a softer shell. No malted milk powder? Increase the cocoa by 10 g and add 1 tsp of golden syrup to the dough, though the malt note will be missing.
What is the most important thing to get right in Tim Tam?
Sift in the flour, cocoa, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt and mix only until it comes together into a firm dough. Overworking makes the biscuits tough rather than short and snappy.
