This recipe comes from an Australian girl who helped look after our children and do some cooking while we were skiing, and it’s now a family favourite.

It travels well and it keeps well.

Makes about 16

For the base:

1. 4 tbsp golden syrup (either lightly oil the tablespoon, or put it into hot water)
2. 100g/4 oz good quality plain chocolate
3. 100g/4 oz butter (two-fifths of a brick)
4. 250g/8 oz digestive biscuits
5. 60g/2 oz/just over ⅓ cup dried sour cherries (or dried cranberries) – if you can’t find simply add this weight to the amount of sultanas
6. 50g/2 oz/⅓ cup sultanas (you might want to soak these in either Earl Grey tea, or in rum, and then drain before you use them)

For the icing:

1. 100g/4 oz dark chocolate
2. 5 teaspoons golden caster sugar
3. Couple of walnuts of butter
4. 2 tbsps water

1. First make the base – put the golden syrup and the butter into a medium sized saucepan. Heat gently, melt, and stir.
2. Break up the chocolate into squares and crush the biscuits (put them in a plastic bag and crush/gently knock with a rolling pin)
3. Take the syrup and butter off the heat, and add the chocolate, stirring all the time with a smallish silicone spatula
4. Mix in the biscuits, the cherries and the sultanas
5. Line the base of a square, or rectangular tin with baking or silicone paper and spread the mixture over it, pressing it down.
6. Meanwhile make the icing. Put the ingredients for the icing in a bain marie (a heatproof bowl, suspended over, but not touching, simmering water). Stir well with a silicone spatula.
7. Take the tray bake out of the fridge and pour over the icing – you may need to tilt the tray bake backwards and forwards to get the icing to cover the tray bake fully.
8. Put the whole lot back in the fridge for about three hours.

This post is dedicated to Kirsty