It may seem like a lot of steps, but each part of this recipe is very simple and worth your time. The homemade biscuits and honeycomb really help to make this cake but you can always sub in chopped crunchie bar and shop bought biscuits if you are really pressed for time.
Ingredients
-For the digestives
100g rolled oats (or oat flour if you don’t have a food processor)
100g wholemeal spelt flour, with extra for dusting
100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
55g light brown muscovado sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp milk
-For the honeycomb
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp honey
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
-For the cake
125g butter, plus extra to grease the tin
350g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
1 heaped tbsp golden syrup
2 – 3 tbsp bourbon
1 egg, lightly beaten
150g of the spelt digestives (or shop bought if you prefer)
To make the digestive biscuits, blitz the rolled oats in a food processor into a fine powder, then add the spelt flour and butter and pulse to the texture of breadcrumbs. You can also do this step without a food processor, simply rub the butter through the flours to the same consistency. Transfer to a bowl and stir through the sugar, baking powder and salt with your hands. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time to bring together a slightly sticky dough. Tip onto a sheet of clingfilm and tightly wrap then flatten to a disc. Chill for 15 minutes in the fridge as you preheat the oven to 180oc/160oc fan and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
Remove the biscuit dough from the fridge and place between two sheets of clingfilm, the bottom dusted with spelt flour. Roll to a thickness of around 3mm then remove the top layer of clingfilm and cut out as many biscuits as you can with a round 5cm cutter. Reroll the scraps until all the dough is used then space out on baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the oven. You may need to do this in stages if you only have one sheet or a small oven. Once golden and baked, cool on the tray for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, store in an airtight box for 2 to 3 days.
To make the honeycomb, line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set near the hob. In a large heavy bottomed pot (like a Le Crueset), combine the sugar, golden syrup and honey together over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil to a golden amber colour reading around 150oc on a digital thermometer. Take off the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda, whisking for around 5 seconds and pouring immediately onto the baking sheet. Try not to over whisk the mix as the bubbles may collapse. Leave to cool to room temperature before smashing into pieces with the end of a rolling pin. Store in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days.
To make the cake, grease a 1kg loaf pan with butter then line all sides with baking parchment, making sure the paper comes up a couple of centimetres above the edges.
Place a large bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Add the butter, chocolate and golden syrup to the bowl and melt together, adding a good pinch of salt to cut through the bitterness whilst stirring. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly then stir through the bourbon then the egg to pasteurise it.
Place the biscuits in a bowl and bash into large chunks and some smaller crumbs with the end of a rolling pin. Add the honeycomb and bash again into chunks then add to the bowl of chocolate and butter with the chopped pecans and carefully stir until everything is combined. Add to the prepared loaf tin and level off with a spatula then lightly press a rectangle of baking parchment over the top then chill for at least four hours or until set.
When you are ready to serve, turn the loaf tin onto a wooden board and peel off the paper. Dust with cocoa powder with a sieve then cut into slices and serve with any remaining honeycomb and biscuit crumbs. A good dollop of ice cream wouldn’t go amiss either.
Recipe by Victoria Sponge Pease Pudding at http://victoriaspongepeasepudding.com/baking/bourbon-chocolate-honeycomb-biscuit-cake/