Ingredients
Base
- 250 gmalt biscuits, crushed
- 125 gbutter
- 200 gsweetened condensed milk
Lollies
- 200 gEskimo lollies, or another soft fruit-flavoured marshmallow sweet, chopped
To coat
- 100 gdesiccated coconut
To serve
- sliced into rounds, at a birthday party or a school fair
Directions
- Cut them into pieces of roughly a centimetre. Chop them rather than leaving them whole, since whole sweets make the log impossible to slice neatly. If they stick to the knife, dust the blade lightly with icing sugar between cuts.
- Crush them into fine crumbs with a few larger pieces remaining. Crush them fine enough to bind but not to dust, since a completely powdered biscuit gives a dense pasty texture with no interest.
- Melt the butter gently and stir in the condensed milk. Do not let it boil, since heating condensed milk further starts to caramelise it and changes both colour and flavour.
- Combine the crushed biscuits, chopped sweets and the butter mixture and stir until evenly coated. Work quickly and do not overmix, since prolonged handling warms and softens the sweets. The mixture should hold together when squeezed in your hand.
- Spread the coconut in a thick line on a sheet of baking paper or cling film. Tip the mixture onto the coconut and shape it into a log about six centimetres thick.
- Press it genuinely firmly, since a loosely packed log crumbles apart the moment you cut it. Use the paper to help you roll and compress, twisting the ends like a cracker. Roll the whole log through the coconut so the outside is completely covered. Now chill it for at least three hours, and overnight is better.
- Use a sharp knife and wipe it between cuts, since the mixture is sticky and drags. Each slice should show a cross-section of pale biscuit studded with bright pieces of sweet, which is the whole visual point of it. Serve it cold, straight from the fridge. It keeps a week refrigerated in an airtight container, and it freezes well.
Technique
- It is a no-bake refrigerator slice rather than a cake.
- The sweets must be soft and chewy rather than hard.
- Let the butter mixture cool or the sweets melt into streaks.
Substitutions
- Digestive or plain sweet biscuits in place of malt biscuits.
- Any soft marshmallow fruit sweet, chopped.
Variations
- Made with chocolate biscuits, for a darker version.
- Rolled in chocolate sprinkles instead of coconut.
- Pressed into a tin and cut into squares.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lolly Cake?
Lolly Cake is a dessert from New Zealand: no-bake log of malt biscuits studded with colorful lollies, rolled in coconut.
How long does Lolly Cake take to make?
Lolly Cake takes 20 min plus 3 hr chilling of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 slices. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Lolly Cake?
Yes, within limits. Digestive or plain sweet biscuits in place of malt biscuits. Any soft marshmallow fruit sweet, chopped.
What is the most important thing to get right in Lolly Cake?
Cut them into pieces of roughly a centimetre. Chop them rather than leaving them whole, since whole sweets make the log impossible to slice neatly. If they stick to the knife, dust the blade lightly with icing sugar between cuts.
