Batik Marie Cake

Batik Marie Cake

100g milo (any sweet chocolate malt powder will do)

25g cocoa powder
125ml boiling water
190g butter
200ml sweetened condensed milk
90g white granulated sugar
5 eggs, lightly beaten
250g Marie biscuits (any graham crackers will do), broken into rough quarters

1. Grease and line a 23cm x 9cm x 7cm deep loaf tin (or other loaf tin with a capacity of at least 5 cups or 1.25L) with baking paper, extending paper 2-3cm above edge of tin.
2. In a deep saucepan, slowly add boiling water to milo and cocoa, stirring vigorously until it is smooth. Add butter, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and eggs to the mixture.
3. Place the saucepan over moderate heat and cook, stirring all the time with a whisk or a spoon, until you feel the bottom starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
4. Turn heat down to low, and continue to cook, stirring without stopping, for about another 20-25 minutes until a thick custard forms. (refer to recipe notes)
5. Turn off the heat, and stir in the quartered biscuits. Mix until all the biscuits are coated with the custard.
6. Transfer mixture to the prepared tin. Press down firmly so there are no air pockets in the mixture. Fold the paper extensions over the top and press down to even the surface. Then let cool to the touch.
7. Cover with cling film, and refrigerate overnight.
8. When the cake is firm, use the paper extension as handle to pull the cake out of the tin. Slice and serve chilled.

Recipe Notes:It may look like the custard will never thicken, and when it already has, you may feel like it has thickened enough. I’ve found that the best way to gauge is when the mixture is reduced to about half of its original amount, and when stirring, you can actually see the mixture coagulate together, scraping off the sides of the pan perfectly; i.e. you don’t see any liquid remnants at the sides of the pan.