Fifteen bites
- Prepare
- over 2 hours
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Makes 24
- Dietary
- Egg-free
Fifteens are a Northern Irish fridge cake – easy to make and popular with all ages. Chef Anna Haugh shares her version.
You will need a 24cmx24cm/9½inx9½in square baking tin for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the digestive biscuits
- 200g/7oz wholemeal flour
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 75g/2¾oz soft brown light sugar
- 150g/5½oz unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp whole milk
For the fifteens
- 80g/1¾oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 260g/9¼oz condensed milk
- 2 tbsp coconut, for the mix, plus 4 tbsp for sprinkling
- 180g/6¼oz marshmallows
- 100g/3½oz glacé cherries, cut into 8 pieces
- 3 Turkish delight cubes, cut into slices, same size as the cherries
Method
To make the digestive biscuits, place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, butter and milk into a large mixing bowl and rub in using your fingertips until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Bring into a dough with your hands.
Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper on a work surface then add the dough in the centre and place another sheet of paper on top. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in between the two sheets of paper, until you get to the thickness of a pound coin. Place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Use a 6cm/2½in biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits. Place them onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, then use a metal skewer or fork to poke some holes in the biscuits and cook in the oven for 8 minutes. Allow to cool.
Place the cooked and cooled biscuits into a large glass bowl and break them up using the end of a rolling pin.
To make the fifteens, place 50g/1¾oz butter and the condensed milk into a saucepan on a low heat and cook until the butter has melted. Pour this over the broken biscuits, then add the 2 tablespoons of coconut and mix to combine.
Use a rolling pin to roll this mixture out in between two sheets of greaseproof paper to a rectangle around 24cmx48cm/9½inx19in in size. Remove the top layer of greaseproof and then sprinkle the remaining 4 tablespoons of coconut on top. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Add the marshmallows and remaining butter to a medium saucepan over a medium heat and allow to melt.
To assemble, grease and line a 24cmx24cm/9½inx9½in baking tin with baking paper. Remove the rolled out biscuit mix from the fridge and cut in half so that you have two squares the same size as your baking tin. Place one of the biscuit sheets into the tin, then pour the melted marshmallows over the top. Sprinkle over the chopped cherries and Turkish delight, then top with the other biscuit sheet. Place back in the fridge for 1–2 hours.
To serve, remove from the tin and cut into 25 bite-size pieces.
Recipe tips
If you have any biscuit dough left you can re-roll, cut and bake.
