Chocolate Cold Cake, No Bake

Memories of food are powerful. The chicken roast that I ate long time back on some wedding because it’s colour was amazing, the masala omelette I woke up to on a certain Sunday morning for its ravishing aroma, the ice cream I enjoyed on a vacation because it added to the happiness of the day…those food moments were fleeting but their memories will always stay with me.

Psychologists say we crave comfort foods in moments of fatigue or distress because we are searching for that comfortable spot in time when we felt safe and happy. Chocolate is the most craved comfort food because there are usually many happy memories associated with it from our past. This Chocolate Cold Cake is one such memory for me.

I remember eating it first time on an otherwise boring and insignificant summer evening. We were visiting a distant relative and I was not interested at all in the conversation going on among grown ups, being the only child in the room at that time. The kind hostess sensed my dismay, she disappeared in the kitchen and came back with a lovely smile and the most amazing chocolate cake for me. One bite and love happened! It was cold, creamy, smooth, with lots of textural contrast from biscuits and nuts and it was chocolate…inside out!

Whenever I recreate that rich and indulgent cake in my kitchen, I feel as happy and comfortable as my nine year old self did that summer evening. And it’s a breeze to make too, specially in summer when you don’t want to bake! No bake, just mix everything and freeze in a bowl till it’s set to melt again in your mouth. Call it fridge cake, tiffin or cold cake…to me it simply means heaven.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
6-7 cups, broken biscuits (Graham Cracker, Wheatable, Marie)
1 cup assorted raisins and nuts
1/2 cup cream
2/3 cup dark or milk chocolate

Break biscuits roughly in 3-4 pieces into a big mixing bowl.

Add sugar and cocoa powder in a sauce pan. Add water and cook on medium heat till the sugar melts.

Add butter, continue to cook for 5-6 minutes or till the butter melts and sauce thickens up slightly. Stir in vanilla essence.

When the sauce cools down a bit, pour it over the biscuits. Add nuts and raisins. Mix everything to coat thoroughly with chocolate mixture. The dough shall look like mud at this stage.

There should be no liquid chocolate sauce left at the bottom of the bowl. If there is, add a few more biscuits to soak it up.

Add the mixture to a 6×6 inch cake pan or any freezable container.

Press it down and smooth the surface with a spatula or back of serving spoon.

Cover tightly with a lid, plastic wrap or foil sheet. Refrigerate for 4 hours or leave in the freezer for an hour or till it’s set hard.

Cook together cream and chocolate in a small saucepan till the mixture thickens to fudge sauce like consistency.

Leave it to cool down to room temperature. Pour over the cake.

Return to fridge for an hour or freezer for half an hour.

Remove from pan. Cut into slices and serve with fresh seasonal fruit.

Serves 6