Cranberry and Pecan Tiffin

Cranberry and Pecan Tiffin :: this is one ScRumPtiOuS recipe, and I'm delighted to be passing it on to you all. You're gonna love it. Your family and friends are gonna love it, and they will love you for making it and sharing it.

When it was J's birthday earlier this year, he told me quite matter of factly that he didn't want any presents, and he didn't want cake. No, what he really wanted more than anything else was homemade tiffin. And that is what he got.

This recipe is my own. I had never made Tiffin before J's birthday request, although I had eaten it. I have a faded memory of eating the most delicious, scrumptious cranberry and pecan tiffin someplace, somewhen, somewhere that I can't quite recall. But I remember how completely I loved it, and how that combination of the slightly sharp cranberries with the sweetness of the chocolate and the crunch of the biscuit was just divine. Heavenly.
I searched the internet for a cranberry-pecan-tiffin recipe and could find none. But there are a gazillion recipes out there for Tiffin (often known as Refrigerator Cake), and I found they all varied wildly in both the ingredients and the quantities. So I ended up kind of combining several different bits of various recipes to make my own version, based on that elusive memory of the original one I tasted in some unknown cafe in some forgotten place.

So to make this wickedly, heavenly recipe, you will need ::

200g digestive biscuits
100g dried cranberries
50g roughly chopped pecan nuts
200g good chocolate (I use half and half dark/milk)
200g unsalted butter (it HAS to be unsalted and it CANNOT be margarine)
2tbs golden syrup (or corn syrup in the US)

This is a very child friendly recipe, and it's also a no-bake recipe. It can also be a very messy recipe if you have Small Helpers.

Put the biscuits into a bowl and smash to bits. Use whatever implement you fancy...rolling pin, wooden spoon, your child. We started out with a wooden spoon, then went in with Little Lady's hands toward the end to break the crumbs up more finely.

You don't want to end up with dust mind you, so go steady with the pounding. The biscuit should be a mix of very fine crumbs and slightly larger bits too, as pictured above.

Assemble your cranberries, and roughly chop your pecan nuts.

 

Add the fruit and nuts to the smashed biscuit and mix well.

In a separate heatproof bowl, put the chocolate, butter and syrup and heat gently until melted. I used the microwave, heating for about 30-45 seconds at a time, then stirring, then heating a little more, then stirring until there is a lovely, luscious bowl of brown melty smooth deliciousness.

Ahhhhh the smell......it takes all my will power not to stick my face right in the bowl and slurp.

Now add the biscuit/fruit/nut mix to the melted chocolate/butter/syrup mix and stir well.

Pour into a lined tin (I used an 8inch/20cm square brownie tin, lined with baking parchment).

Then put the tray into the fridge and leave to cool/set...takes at least an hour, and this is by far the hardest bit of the whole tiffin-making experience, especially if you are doing it with Little People.

You can distract Little Minds for a good while by allowing them to clean the bowl out with their bare hands. Be warned, it will be Messy.

But once the bowl has been cleaned, the Pestering will begin.

Is it ready yet?

Can we check?

Is it ready now?

Can I go look?

I lost track of the number of times Little Lady went to the fridge to see if the chocolate had set, but there were a lot of little finger prints all over the surface of our tiffin.

No matter...it did eventually set of course....

....and it did eventually get eaten with mmmmmm's of appreciation. Words cannot describe how delicious this stuff is.

And Oh. My. Goodness. Just looking at these photos this morning is making me want to rush out the house this very instant to go buy the ingredients to make this again. Really. I'm seriously thinking to myself :: right, its 9am, the supermarket is open, if I put my coat on over my pyjamas and go right now this very minute, I could be eating cranberry and pecan tiffin with my (late) morning coffee.

Oh yeah.

See ya.....I'm off.............

Edited to add :: a note about digestive biscuits...I realise now, a very English ingredient. According to Wikipedia, in the US you can substitute with Graham Crackers, if this makes any sense??!!

Comments

[Andi]

yumm...made it and scoffed it all the same day :)

xxx

[Jen]

I just love this blog of yours. Thank you! Thank you!

[Abi]

I've made this today and it is gorgeous....mmm ... not much left though....... oh dear.

Love your blog Lucy, it alweays brightens my day :o)

[Meg]

Hi! It might be my very first comment..... I have been reading your blog for so long!!! I must say, I LOVE YOUR BLOG SO SO MUCH!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!!! Looks so yummy!!!!! I will try sometimes soon.. before summer is over!

[Lisa]

Oh yummy! Tiffin! I made it too this weekend, though I used margarine and it was fine.
If you want another variation, go have a look at an earlier posting on my blog:
http://lisa-handmadeinisrael.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html#4790416399049303858

[Rebecca]

mmmmm! I try not to make tiffin too often (on account of me being unable to resist scoffing the lot!) but you might just have persuaded me to make another batch.
xxx

[bethel of bethania]

OOOhhhhhhhhh yummmm... I think I'll catch the first plane over... will that give you enough time to make another batch... ohhh how my mouth is watering... B

[Michelle]

Thank you! I just made this today, but I used dried cherries instead as I couldn't find cranberries. It was delicious!!

[Mandy]

Until I read the addendum on the end, I had no idea what digestive biscuits were... thank goodness they are actually just graham crackers! Definitely inspired to do some baking of goodies and sweets of my own now... thank you very much for the recipe. Yummy! :-)

[Shannon]

Your tiffin looks absolutely delicious. Thank you for the U.S. translation; I have often read about "digestive biscuits" in books, and had no idea what they were or where to find them. Graham crackers, I can do!

[lulu]

super delich!

[Bairbre Aine]

Hallo Lucy, I've so missed reading your blog.
I hope you are well, happy and creatively energised.
Just wanted to nip in and send you warm wishes. I've been away far too long.
Ta ta,
Bairbre Aine

[boo]

Yummy!!

I have my new kitchen and these will be trialled asap!!!

[Darina]

I suppose it could be made with other kinds of biscuits too... I will definitelly try it these days! the best thing about your recipes here is that they are sooo delicious and yet so simple! i'll just check what that syrup is(: Thank you(:

[Helen]

Sonds fandooby! made caramel shortbread after your last recipe (known as goo in our house). it was sooo yummy and moreish. Will try this too very very soon. Ripply blanky coming on well in the oh so soft cotton for my hall / library cosy place.

[Carole]

oh my,oh my, this tiffin is gorgeous.As in my previous comment, i made it for my friend last night and she thinks it is the future!lol! I told her that you were going to get the ingredients with your PJ`s on & coat over the top. She said that your her kind of woman lolol!Brilliant recipe once again.
Luv Carole from Rosssendale xxxxx

[pinry]

oh that does look very very good! i will be trying this. thank you so much! interestingly i haven't heard of this type of slice referred to as tiffin before - we would call it hedgehog! incidently i have a recipe for prune and walnut hedgehog here: http://pinry.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/sweet/

[Cenoura]

Hi! I've found your blog a few days ago and I can't stop to visit you everyday!
I really love the things you do - specially the blankets! ;)

[Mariama]

MMMhhhh!!! Thank you for the recipe! I will try it.

[ThatLoganChick]

That looks (and sounds) delicious! Absolutely yummy. And as I'm a wee bit weak right now (not a whole lot of temptation required for me to break - put some crumbles in a pretty bowl and I'm a goner), I immediately inventoried the Fridge. A pathetic shortage of cranberries and utter lack of the right biscuits resulted in Tiffin with dried mango and Ginger Snaps. Yum, yum, yum. But next time I shop it's your recipe for sure!

Thanks for posting such delightful temptations. Your photographs really hit the spot. The hungry hungry must make now spot.

[Suz]

Morning..can't sleep so catching up with the blogging l missed yesterday
Thank you soooooo much for the lovely comments and the rug you asked about is from Ikea...gorgeous isn't it?

oh yes and you are such a bad girl!!!...started a new diet a couple of days ago and you have now put this recipes up....bad bad bad! hehe
Happy weekend to you and yours x

[Jennifer]

mm mm mm, will need to try this!!

and yep, youre right, graham crackers are substituted for digestives!

x

[Elizabeth]

Great recipe....Thank you.

[Anne Bebbington]

Just to clarify from my earlier comment - I can confirm that they are totally delicious if you substitute pecans with dessicated coconut because you have no nuts in the cupboard - a breeze to make but soooooooooo difficult waiting for them to set :o)

[penny]

Hmmm! I only read the post and put on 7lbs! That is a DANGEROUS recipe - it looks completely irristable!