When I made the basic recipe for Kek Batik almost three years ago, never in my wildest imagination would I have believed that it would become the third most popular recipes on my blog! As of this week it has over 29 thousand views in total since it was posted, wow…
As I have mentioned in that post, Kek Batik is very similar to Hedgehog Slice. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Kek Batik has its origin in Hedgehog Slice, or Chocolate Fridge Cake as it is more popularly known in the UK, you know that of the famed Prince William’s Royal Wedding Cake earlier this year.
Anyway, after I posted the Kek Batik recipe, there were a few queries about whether omitting eggs in that recipe is possible. Well, here it is, a very fudgy eggless version of Hedgehog Slice, or Kek Batik tanpa Telur if you want to call it in Malay. The recipe is from That Royal Cake, but I put my spin on it by topping it with white chocolate and sprinkles. Oh, a couple more things, you must use dark chocolate of at least 70%-cocoa, or even 85%-cocoa, and normal salted butter, or else the slice will be too sickly sweet!
Makes approx. 24 pieces
250g Marie biscuits
395g (1 tin) sweetened condensed milk
100g 70%-cocoa dark chocolate
150g White Choc Melts (white chocolate buttons)
chocolate and/or rainbow sprinkles
1. Grease and line an 18cm square tin with baking paper, extending paper about 5cm over the sides. Crush or break the biscuits into roughly 1cm-size pieces; place into a large mixing bowl. Break the dark chocolate into small pieces; set aside.
2. In a saucepan, cook the sweetened condensed milk and butter over gentle heat, stirring constantly to prevent the bottom from catching. When butter has melted, remove from heat and add the dark chocolate; stir until chocolate melts.
3. Pour the chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl containing the biscuits. Stir to coat the biscuits evenly. Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin. Place a piece of baking paper on top and press down to compact the mixture and smooth the surface.
4. Place the tin (together with the paper on top) into the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 4 hours, or until the mixture has set.
5. For the topping, melt the white chocolate and the copha over a double boiler (or in a microwave) and pour over the slice. Scatter the sprinkles evenly over the white chocolate. Chill until set. Use the overhanged paper to pull the slice out of the tin and cut into 24 3cm x 4.5cm fingers, or any size you desired.
Note the fudgy chocolate sticking to the paper in front where a slice was cut off.
Taste: Rich indulgent chocolate snacks
Consume: Best within a week, but it won’t last that long!
Storage: Keep chilled in airtight container
Recipe Reference(s): Chocolate Crunch Cake