Chocolate Crunch

On the Tarnóy side of the family, this is known as ‘Auntie Alison’s Chocolate Crunch’, whereas the Wilsons and the Chandlers call it ‘Granny’s chocolate’. Evidently, Great-Granny got the recipe from her sister-in-law (Auntie Alison) and it then became her own. She would invariably produce it as a tea-time treat whenever the grandchildren visited. I made it quite often as a teenager myself but, having long since mislaid the recipe, was reminded of it only recently, after two of my cousins (Hannah and Christopher) made some for the wake after Great-Granny’s funeral. Many thanks to Hannah for refreshing my memory, for converting imperial measurements to metric and for recommending butter instead of post-war margarine.

Makes 16 generous pieces

Ingredients

100g butter
100g sugar
1 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
1 medium egg, beaten
225g digestive biscuits, crushed
200g Bournville chocolate

You will also need a greased tin: the square one pictured below measures 23 x 23 cm, but a rectangular sandwich tin will also do.

Method

Melt the butter, add the sugar and bubble through. Remove from the heat to cool a little. Add the cocoa and egg, then stir in the crushed biscuits.

Press into your greased tin and cool slightly. Melt the chocolate (over a bain-marie or in the microwave) and coat the biscuit mixture with it. Bash the tin to smooth the top. Cool until firm enough to cut into pieces. Great-Granny’s (Hannah’s?) advice is not to do this in the fridge because the chocolate is liable to crack but if you keep a careful eye on it you should be able to get away with it.