The Spanish love sweet things. I don´t think I´m making too much of a generalization with that statement. Not that they´re greedy, but a little cake or biscuit is always most welcomed with a strong cup of coffee at the end of a meal, or a big bowl of milky coffee if it´s the start of the day.
Dealing with preparations for our unexpected lunch for 12, I was lucky that I had already made some of Spree´s gorgeous Mexican Wedding Cookies for an earlier family meal. The recipe makes plenty, and they were hugely popular. The only change I made to these, as I was in a rush, was to grind all the nuts (I used almonds and walnuts) and not chop half of them. Lovely, lovely little biscuits and I´ll definitely be making them again.
Another quick recipe which came to mind was for Chocolate Refrigerator cake. I made this the night before our lunch party and cut the cake into small squares the next morning. These went down well too, and it´s a good recipe to make with little children as you only need a (supervised) heat source for melting.
Here´s the way I made it, although you can chop and change (or even omit) the fruit/nut filling.
250g crushed digestive biscuits (graham crackers)
100g butter
2 tablespoons of golden syrup or honey
3 level tablespoons of cocoa powder
About half a cup of “filling” – I used the last of my drained boozy fruits and added the grated zest of one lemon and one orange
Melt the butter with the golden syrup and cocoa then add to the crushed biscuits and filling. Mix well until everything is well coated. If you leave some large chunks of biscuit/cracker, you will have some pretty speckles in the finished “cake”.
Pour into a tin lined with cling film, flatten and press it with your finger tips then cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight until firm.
Cut into squares – it´s very rich so I tend to do “bite sized”. And that´s it. Doesn´t get much quicker or easier does it?!
Chica Andaluza 
Looks and sounds delicious. I grew up around sweets …thus my weakness for them. I would crave for them each meal….as for coffee…can’t live without it. sweets and coffee equals heavenly delight. Wonderful post….best wishes.
Ah thank you so much. I´m not very “sweet toothed” but every so often…and definitely with a strong cup of coffee 🙂
I love sweet things…maybe I am destined to live in Spain! Looks good!
You´d be spoilt for choice here with the Arabic influence on lots of little pastries!
Reminds me of Churros and coffee on Spanish trips. Nice recipes.
Oh yes, churros are great and with that really thick hot chocolate – perfect for breakfast or tea time!
Yum – I bet they loved it/them 😉
They did, have had requests for both recipes!
Ooh yummy – love a little treat with my tea. Your fridge cake reminds me of my MIL’s recipe – cool! Both this and the wedding cookies are so homely -lovely!
Think I would become the size of a house if I had to come and visit you for too long.
🙂 Mandy
That´s probably why I´m not a skinny Minnie myself 😦 Sweets are a big treat though – rarely eaten but very much enjoyed when we do have them!
Oh yum! I’ll have to give the cake a try, funny enough I was watching a cooking show the other day on Dutch TV and he was making a similar refrigerator cake! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you like it – I guess it´s not a true chocolate cake for real choccy fans, but it hits the spot and is quick and tasty!
Once again, I just have to give an appreciative bow to you Tanya for putting such a gorgeous feast together for friends, with such short notice! And noticing Rogers’s comment above, I’m wondering about (read: hoping for) a recipe for Spanish churros and your wonderful hot chocolate. (or maybe you already have one?) (And by the way, so happy to hear you liked the Mexican wedding cookies!)
Thank you Spree – no I haven´t done a recipe yet for churros and chocolate as I have never made them at home (shame on me!). But now you´ve mentioned it I´m just going to have to rise to the challenge! I made some more of the cookies recently and gave a few to my neighbour who looked after my dogs for a couple of days. When I saw her to pick the pooches up she said (ever so seriously) “please don´t ever give me any more of those cookies Tanya”. I guess she saw the shocked look on my face (thinking she hadn´t enjoyed them). It seems she had scoffed the lot and her partner hadn´t even got a look in so she was in his bad books 🙂
That’s adorable! 🙂 And oh I do hope you “rise to the challenge” – I’ll rise right behind you! Would LOVE to know how to make churros!
These look yummy and easy. Thanks.
Super easy, glad you liked them!
Check out my version of Chocolate Fridge Cake here: http://mintcuisinefoodblog.com/2012/01/17/chocolate-fridge-cake/
I personally prefer more chocolate – but yours still looks yummy and of course healthier than mine!
Hi Mint Cuisine and thanks for stopping by and commenting (oh and I see you´ve subscribed too, so thank you!). Yes, it´s not heavy on the chocolate, maybe becuase I´m not a huge chocolate fan, but the flavour was quite intense. Am off now to check out your recipe as Big Man is a HUGE fan!
This sounds like a lovely recipe, especially with the boozy fruit. I’m sure you hate that it is finished.
Good things have to come to an end some time 😦 However, now it´s orange time here and that always makes me happy!
I’ve never heard of this! I will be trying it, and soon!
It was new to me when I first made it a few years back…now it´s a favourite!
Must make boozy fruit, for real this time! And those cookies are on my list too. Everything looks and sounds great.
“For real” – made me laugh remembering your previous experience! The cookies are great and you can use anything in them (or nothing) whatever takes your fancy…
Hi T, Love the idea and look of the refrigerator cake.TFS.
Regards Florence x
It´s so simple and pretty much made with ingredients we have in the despensa!
I have to give you credit, Tanya. You certainly did dot all of your i’s and cross all of your t’s, making sure your family was very well cared for. I am certain they had a fantastic time, one that you will all remember and talk about, the memories of which you’ll all cherish. You did your parents proud!
Well, they were splodgy i´s and wonky t´s some of the time, but that´s half the fun!
Those wedding biscuits have been on my list forever to make, they look so yummy, I’m sure guest will have adored them. I think I would be happy in Spain since i have a sweet tooth.
Thank Spree for those – they are soooo good! And yes, Spain loves a person with a sweet tooth (and carnivores) 🙂
You have just answered a previously unknown! Graham crackers. Until now I was clueless as to what they were. So good old digestive biscuits. Doh!!! Never mind, you’re a star for enlightening me 🙂 And the recipe is going in my favourites tab for later. I love the idea of fridge food 🙂
I don´t think they´re EXACTLY the same (and I am a bit biased as I love digestives) but my Californian neighbour had a very long conversation about this once (!) and decided that they are they substitutes one for the other. And you almost don´t need a fridge where you are right now – just stick it outside to cool!
I’m imaginging the conversation 🙂 and outside in the cold – and let marcel chomp on it before we do!! Laughs……
Hi Chica – I love refrigerator cake. Have you ever seen/heard of tiffin cake before? It’s pretty much the same thing, often with raisins, and you can usually find it in English cake shops. Really, really delicious, yours looks so beautiful. I can imagine the crispiness mixed with the squidge of the chocolate.
I like to use crushed shortbread when I make refrigerator cake because I like the extra butteryness it imparts 🙂
Have never heard of tiffin cake and I just love the thought of it because it reminds me of Carry On Films (another dirty secret of mine!) specifically Carry on Up the Khyber. Oh dear…am rambling. The idea of using shortbread in refrigerator cake is fantastic – what a luxurious buttery taste!
Olé que arte la Chica Andalusa killo!! LOL
I guess that you are surely used to that kind of expressions, so typical in the nether regions of Spain 🙂
I got your blog through the Kay’s Pure Complex one. When I read your gravatar, I just felt so curious, that I wanted to check it 🙂
Me alegro de haber encontrado éste blog, amiga!
have a nice day.
Hola Javi y gracias por haber pasado aqui por mi blog y haber dejado un comentario. Pues, si, ¡ahora estoy acustumbrada a este tipo de expresion! Will go and have a look at your blog now. Un saludo
I’ve never tried a refrigerator cake, but yours looks/sounds really, really good. I love chocolate especially mixed with a fruit, and this made with your boozy fruit, well, gee, how could that be anything but great? 🙂
Thank you Betsy – I especially like it as I am not a huge fan of sweet things so you can just cut yourself the perfect sized chunk!
Wow, a bit stressful (lunch for 12)!! I’m sure everything was a hit, these look fantastic. 🙂
Thanks Caroline – it all worked out ok on the day 🙂
I know I’m not Spanish.. but I love sweet things as well lol. But I do have to curve my sweet tooth to make sure I am healthy. This chocolate cake looks so decadent and delish! Wonderful post
I think a sweet tooth is common the world over – and a little bit of something naughty every now and then is not soooo bad 😉
love this cake!
Thank you!
Damnit. Now I have to make this too! Are you trying to kill me? Yum! :o))
Sorry 😦 But thanks for all your lovely comments!
This is my all-time favourite. YUM. x
Hey hey! Glad you like it 🙂
¡Qué ricos! Fantásticas recetas Tanya.
Algunas veces cuando busco recetas he visto la de los pastelitos de boda mejicanos y nunca me he visto tentada a hacerlos, pero si me dices que están buenos… te creo 🙂
Tendré que hacerlos y ese pastel de chocolate seguro que también.
Saludos
G
Los pastelitos de boda mejicanos (que ahora están nombrados por Big Man como los pastelitos de amor en nuestra casa 🙂 ) han sido un éxito enorme…mi consejo es de hacerlos muy pronto!
My mum used to make something like the refrigerator cake but without the fruits.
We used to love it as kids.
Thank you for the mexican cookies. They look SO GOOD and tempting to try
I can´t take credit for the Mexican cookies but can highly recommend making them – they´re wonderful. And I think the refrigerator cake is probably more typically made (especially for children) more simply and without the fruit…either way, it´s very good!
Both treats sounds delicious!! The cookies would go very quickly, I love the combination of nuts and well as for the chocolate…how can you go wrong with that!! Love how you can pull together such a fabulous lunch on the spur of the moment!!
Thanks Linda – it was not as stressful as I thought it would be – the Spanish are not so big on formality (at least round here they´re not) and we were in the garden so it was all pretty relaxed. Can´t recommend those Mexican Wedding Cookies highly enough!
Yum! Quick and easy chocolate treats are always a plus in my book 🙂
You can´t go wrong with this one! Thanks for visiting…
Gotta love easy desserts! I have never had a refrigerator cake, I will have to give it a try! 🙂
Bet yours would be amazing!
I guess that Spanish quality of loving sweets is handed over to the Filipinos. We love our sweets as well and your post is no exception
I guess it must have been – don´t know much about Filipino desserts and sweets, will have to have a look at some of your recipes 🙂
I love this kind of refrigerator treats! You’ve reminded me I have some “fixings” for such goodies handy and ought to put a batch together tomorrow! Hurray!! Thanks for the good reminder. 🙂
You´re welcome, it really is so easy!
A cookie post! You had me drooling with the chocolate cake. Mmmmmm which made me think of brownies. I’ve been dying to make a brownie recipe I spotted in The Londoner. Can’t wait to go to Córdoba so I can kindly borrow my cuñada’s oven and make something sinful!
No oven needed for this one!
looks so delicious, I like every read your article