Chocolate tea cakes

Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Marshmallow Teacakes

After watching “The Great British Bake Off”  I was desperate to make Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Marshmallow teacakes. They reminded me so much of the ones we used to eat when I was a child.  The only problem was that I couldn’t find the silicone moulds in South Africa.  On a recent trip to Johannesburg I eventually managed to source a mini half dome silicone mould.  Although these teacakes were really quite difficult to make because the moulds were so tiny, they were well worth the effort, and I think I prefer the idea of a small teacake, as they are very decadant and rich.

 

chocolate-teacakes2

 The biscuits are a delicious digestive using wholemeal and plain flour.  If you prefer they can be made using just the plain flour, but I loved the crunchy wholemeal taste.  Make sure you cut the biscuits the exact size of the silicone moulds and they must be chilled in the fridge before cooking, so that they are firm and don’t spread or shrink when cooked. These biscuits would be great just baked and spread with any chocolate of your choice to make amazing chocolate digestives. Try a selection of white, milk and dark chocolate.

I was thrilled with my attempt and  hope I have done his recipe justice.

Chocolate marshmallow treatsDigestive-biscuits

 

4 from 2 votes
Paul Hollywood's Chocolate Marshmallow Tea Cakes
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
6 mins
Total Time
46 mins
 
This is Paul Hollywood's marshmallow and chocolate teacake recipe from The Great British Bake Off
Course: Chocolate, cookies
Servings: 6 or 12
Author: Paul Hollywood
Ingredients
  • 400 g Bournville dark chocolate with around 40% cocoa solids
  • 50 g wholemeal flour
  • 50 g plain flour
  • pinch salt
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 25 g caster sugar
  • 25 g oz butter
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • For the marshmallow
  • 3 free-range eggs , whites only
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 6 tsp golden syrup
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ vanilla pod , seeds only
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF/179ºC.
  2. Melt 300g of the chocolate over a bowl of simmering water. Allow to cool slightly . If the chocolate is too soft it wont line the moulds.
  3. Mix the flours, salt, baking powder and caster sugar together in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips.
  4. Add the milk and stir together to form a smooth ball .
  5. Roll out your dough on a floured surface to about 5mm/1/4in thick. If you are making mini teacakes like I did, make sure your dough is very thin.
  6. Cut out six rounds with a 7.5cm/3in straight sided round cutter, or 12 rounds using a smaller cutter for the mini biscuit bases.
  7. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. Your biscuits need to be perfectly round and well chilled to ensure that they dont spread or shrink when you bake them.
  8. Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes. They do need to be hard, not soft as they form the base of the teacake.
  9. Cool on a wire rack.
  10. Next coat your moulds with the melted chocolate. I used the back of a spoon to do this. Its quite messy but dont worry about the chocolate spilled on the top of the mould it just peels off.
  11. Paul says to set aside and not refrigerate, but I found mine were perfectly shiny when set in the fridge.
  12. Dip the cooled biscuits in the remaining melted chocolate, covering them completely This is a seriously messy business, but you will eventually get the hang on it.
  13. TO MAKE THE MARSHMALLO
  14. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water).
  15. Whisk with an electric hand whisk for 6-8 minutes, it must be very stiff so it will hold when piped.
  16. Spoon the marshmallow mixture into a piping bag, and the remaining chocolate into another one.
  17. Pipe the marshmallow into each chocolate-lined mould just up to the top.
  18. Carefully pipe some chocolate on the marshmallow and a rim of chocolate around the biscuit base and then put your biscuit on top together.
  19. Wait until completely cold before you peel the tea cakes from the mould.

 

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21 Comments

  • Reply Tandy | Lavender and Lime May 21, 2014 at 7:53 AM

    These look absolutely amazing! I would love one with my coffee right now 🙂

    • Reply Ev May 21, 2014 at 8:06 AM

      Thanks so much xxx

  • Reply Robert October 7, 2014 at 11:17 PM

    made this recipe and were wonderful – however the ingredients for the marshmallow can easily reduced to 2 egg whites, 100g caster sugar etc as the recipe as written made over 3 times what was needed- next time I might even do it with one egg white.

    • Reply Ev October 8, 2014 at 5:42 AM

      Thanks so much for your comments. I am glad you enjoyed them, and thanks for your feedback.

  • Reply kathy dean September 17, 2015 at 11:48 AM

    Hi there! So happy to have found you! They look amazing!!!! And your pics are great!! Just love the cake stand – would so love one. Please do tell where you bought it? Also looking for the mould to make the tea cakes, would be grateful for any info. Have tried looking on-line but only seem to get international sites. Live in j bay in the eastern cape. Many thanks for sharing. Warm regards kathy dean (0836600838)

  • Reply kathy dean September 29, 2015 at 10:09 AM

    Hi Ev
    Love your everything about your blog! thanks for sharing these great recipes. Would so love to make these. Please do tell where you purchased your mould from? Made the spinach and tuna roulade this weekend ( spinach from my veggie patch – only thing green that these fingers of mine can grow) it was divine!!!!!!!

    Many thanks
    Kind regards
    Kathy

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon October 3, 2015 at 11:36 AM

      Hi Kathy, Its so nice to hear from you, and that you are enjoying my recipes. I really battled to find the mould in South Africa, but eventually got it at The Culinary Equipment Company near Lanseria Airport in Jhb.(They do online delivery too). https://www.culinary.co.za/ .
      The roulade is awsome, and I have just bought The Best Silicone mat to bake it, and roll it. Just got back from a trip to Europe , and Germany have the most amazing kitchen shops – found it there. It is fantastic, no more cracks in roulades or swissrolls for me !!!! Its the best using ingredients from your garden, somehow you just know they are better for you. Ev

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon October 3, 2015 at 11:46 AM

      Hi Again Kathy, So sorry I hadn’t replied to you earlier, but just discovered today that ALL my comments had been dumped into the spam bin due to a technical error, and that most of them have been deleted automatically. Horror !!!!!!!! The cake stand was bought in a little garden shop in Durban. Its tiny, only fits a cupcake or two, but I collect all these beautiful little pieces whenever I see them, which are always great for props for my photographs. I love J Bay – we owned a house in St.Francis Bay for 25 years until it burned down in the big fire 2 years ago. Miss that place so much. xxx

  • Reply kathy October 5, 2015 at 11:22 AM

    Hi Ev Thanks ever so much for the link. Commiserations for your great loss. Went through to St Francis last weekend, back to its pristine glory. How awesome, a trip to Europe! Cannot wait to see what you have in store for us for the upcoming festive season. Wishing you an awesome week. xxx

  • Reply Natasha Keith December 18, 2017 at 5:46 PM

    So, I made these the other day. They turned out wonderful but the sugar collapsed on day two- the tea cakes were leaking. One set was in the fridge and one outside of the fridge and both leaked into a mess.

    Ideas what I did wrong?

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon December 19, 2017 at 2:42 PM

      Hi Natasha, I am so sorry your marshmallow fluff seeped, especially after all your hard work, because this is not a simple recipe. Remember that your pot that you whisk the egg whites in must NOT touch the hot water in the pan below. Secondly depending on your humidity levels sometimes you have to whisk the egg whites for longer. They must be very stiff. Where do you live? You could also buy marshmallow fluff from speciality stores. Look online, most countries have it. Alternatively try this recipe from Craftsy making marshmallow fluff from real marshmallows. I havent personally tried it but I think it may be an alternative method. Hope this helps

      https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/12/make-marshmallow-fluff-from-marshmallows/

  • Reply vanina oliveira November 13, 2018 at 5:06 PM

    Hi there. these tea cakes look sooo lovely! I’m hoping to make these for xmas. just wanted to know do you have any idea how long these will keep due to the egg? also, should they be stored in the fridge, and is the biscuit base very crunchy or is it slightly softer buscuit? 🙂

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon November 14, 2018 at 9:42 AM

      Hi Vanina, Lovely to hear from you, and these would be great at xmas. The biscuit base is slightly crunchy, but if you cooked them for a shorter period they would be softer. The longer you cook them the crunchier they will be. I would not keep them in the fridge because the chocolate tends to get a bit of moisture on top when kept too cold. Thirdly I really don’t know how long you can keep the marshmallow fluff (mine never last long enough ) The fluff starts to separate and seeps if it is not made 100% correctly – perhaps if you got a store bought fluff you could determine the shelf life from the packaging. Hope this helps a bit. See my comments to Natasha below. xxx

  • Reply vanina oliveira November 15, 2018 at 11:38 AM

    thank you so much for your reply! yes i did read the entire comment thread before posting as i wanted to know everyones reactions to these lovely teacakes ? ooo also i forgot to ask, i don’t have an electric hand whisk.any rough idea if a manual balloon whisk will do the trick or is it not vigorous enough? thanks again for your reply and will post again to let you know if my attempt is successful! ?❤

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon November 15, 2018 at 3:16 PM

      Yes you can do it manually – good work out for the arms. Good luck xxx

  • Reply vanina oliveira November 16, 2018 at 9:17 AM

    thank you so much for your reply! yes i did read the entire comment thread before posting as i wanted to know everyones reactions to these lovely teacakes ? ooo also i forgot to ask, i don’t have an electric hand whisk.do you have any rough idea if a manual balloon whisk will do the trick or is it not vigorous enough? thanks again for your reply and will post again to let you know if my attempt is successful! ?❤

  • Reply vanina oliveira November 16, 2018 at 9:19 AM

    yes indeed! thanks again and (early) happy xmas ?

  • Reply Beata January 6, 2019 at 2:48 AM

    How long would you say before these start seeping? If they were made in the evening would they last til noon the next day?

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon January 7, 2019 at 9:38 AM

      Yes, if the fluff is made correctly it will definitely last until at least the next day.

  • Reply Teri Hill December 20, 2021 at 8:42 PM

    Store purchased Marshmallow Fluff can stay fresh for a month once opened. This gives you plenty of time to make them before the rest of your holiday baking!

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