Broken biscuit squares

This deliciously buttery cake is the perfect way to use up any broken biscuits that may be at the bottom of the tin – it’s glazed with a sweet ganache and topped with some of my favourite biscuits. It’s a recipe that takes me back to when my dad would go to the cash-and-carry and come back with a treat for us. Usually, it was a crate of apples or oranges, which is no fun when you’re 10 – but give me that crate now, at 37, and I’ll be ecstatic! Occasionally, he would buy kilo bags of broken biscuits – chocolate-filled, jam-filled, cream-filled – which inspired this cake.

MAKES 12 squares PREP 30 mins plus cooling COOK 30 mins EASY V

250g unsalted butter, softened,

plus extra for the tin

100g caster sugar

150g light soft brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 orange, zested

4 eggs

250g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk

For the white chocolate ganache 300g white chocolate, finely

chopped

150ml double cream

For the broken biscuits

30g jammy ring biscuits

30g chocolate sandwich biscuits 30g custard sandwich biscuits

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 5. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm tin. Put the butter and sugars in a mixing bowl and beat using an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and orange zest. Mix to combine. 2 Add the eggs one by one. After each egg, make sure to whisk fast to avoid any splitting. Add the flour and baking powder and whisk for 2 mins until you have smooth batter. Fold in the milk. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a cooling rack until cooled completely.

3 Meanwhile, make the ganache. Put the chopped white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then immediately pour it over the chocolate. Leave for 1 min to melt. Whisk the cream and melted chocolate until you have a smooth, ganache mixture. Set aside – it’ll thicken as it cools.

5 Spread the ganache on top of the cooled sponge in an even layer using a palette knife. Roughly break up the biscuits, then scatter them evenly over the cake. Cut into 12 squares.

PER SERVING 578 kcals • fat 35g • saturates 21g • carbs 56g • sugars 37g • fibre 1g • protein 8g • salt 0.4g