Tried and Tested Tray Bake

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:
- 4 tbsp golden syrup (either lightly oil the tablespoon, or put it into hot water)
- 100g/4 oz good quality plain chocolate
- 100g/4 oz butter (two-fifths of a brick)
- 250g/8 oz digestive biscuits
- 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
- 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:
- 100g/4 oz dark chocolate
- 5 teaspoons golden caster sugar
- Couple of walnuts of butter
- 2 tbsps water
- First make the base – put the golden syrup and the butter into a medium sized saucepan. Heat gently, melt, and stir.
- Break up the chocolate into squares and crush the biscuits (put them in a plastic bag and crush/gently knock with a rolling pin)
- Take the syrup and butter off the heat, and add the chocolate, stirring all the time with a smallish silicone spatula
- Mix in the biscuits, the cherries and the sultanas
- Line the base of a square, or rectangular tin with baking or silicone paper and spread the mixture over it, pressing it down.
- 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.
- 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.
- Put the whole lot back in the fridge for about three hours.
This post is dedicated to Kirsty