Method

1. Melt the butter with the golden syrup in a heavy based pan. Do not let it boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder, dark chocolate and vanilla extract.
3. Stir until you have a very smooth, glossy mixture.
4. Add the pistachios, figs and crushed biscuits to the chocolate mixture and stir well.
5. Line the base and sides of the cake tin with baking parchment or plastic wrap.
6. Place the mixture into a 20 cm cake tin and press it down. (If you are using a square tin, make sure you press it down well into the corners.)
7. Leave to cool at room temperature before covering and chilling in the fridge. It will take about 2 hours to set completely firm.
8. When set, remove from the tin and place it on a cooling rack.
9. Melt the dark chocolate and white chocolate separately.
10. Spread the dark chocolate all over the cake.
11. Decorate with the Maltesers before the chocolate sets, so that they stick to the cake. Position chocolate sticks as desired and drizzle with the white chocolate.
12. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
13. Keeps for up 2 weeks, although it seldom lasts that long, once people know that it is there.

Variations

• You can replace the pistachios with pecans, toasted almonds or macadamia nuts.
• You can replace the figs with raisins, sultanas or dried cherries.
• For a festive holiday treat, use glacé cherries and dried apricots that have been soaked in cherry brandy.
• For a children’s party cake, decorate with Smarties or M&M’s.

This recipe is courtesy of, The Royal Touch by Carolyn Robb, published by ACC Editions.