Chocolate Teacakes with Raspberry Jam

I first tasted Tunnock's milk chocolate teacakes a few years ago, when I received them as a birthday gift.  There's something delicious about this combination of chocolate, marshmallow, and biscuit!  If you live where you can't easily buy them, they're fun to make, and taste delicious with a bit of raspberry jam hidden inside.

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Questions

What are chocolate teacakes?

A Tunnock's teacake is made from a crispy biscuit topped with a dome of fluffy marshmallow and milk chocolate.  Tunnock's is based in Scotland, and the treat has become enormously popular throughout the UK and even the world.

What is in a Tunnock's Teacake?

Tunnock's teacakes contain milk chocolate, soy lecithin, sugar, wheat flour, glucose syrup, vegetable oils, dried egg white, and leavening.  Fortunately, if you make your own teacakes, you won't have any additives like soy lecithin.

Below is a photo comparison of my homemade version beside the slightly smaller Tunnock's teacake.  They are similar in texture and flavor, but I do prefer the homemade ones.

What is tempering?

Tempering is a special way of melting chocolate that aligns the cocoa butter crystals.  When tempered chocolate hardens, it becomes crisp and glossy, instead of having a matte finish like when it's refrigerated.  If you want extra pretty teacakes, it's best to temper.

How long do teacakes keep?

Homemade teacakes will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.  Be sure to keep them sealed inside of an airtight container to keep them fresh.

Can you freeze them?

You can freeze them, but they look better and have a better texture if they aren't frozen.  The cold temperatures of the freezer may cause the tempered chocolate to bloom, which gives it white patches or streaks.

How to Make

Start by making the biscuit bases.  You'll need plain flour, milk, butter, caster sugar, and baking powder.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Gradually add enough milk to create a dry dough.

Knead the dough gently, then roll it out thinly and cut into 3-inch (7.5 cm) rounds.

Chill the biscuits for 15 minutes, then bake at 325 F (160 C) for 10-15 minutes.

Once the biscuits are baked, dump two thirds of the dark chocolate chips into a heatproof mixing bowl.  Be sure to grab your digital thermometer, as you'll need it for tempering.

Melt the chocolate gently, then remove it from the heat and let it cool to around 100 F (37 C).  Stir in the remaining chips until melted, then let it cool until thickened.

Spread some of the chocolate inside a silicone half dome mold.  Be sure to keep it an even thickness all the way around the dome.

Dip the cooled biscuits in the chocolate and let them harden on a piece of baking paper or greaseproof.

While the domes and biscuits are hardening, let's make the marshmallow.  Grab some caster sugar, egg whites, cold water, unflavored gelatine powder, and a little salt.

Mix the gelatine powder and cold water together, then let stand for 5 minutes.  Microwave it for 20 seconds to dissolve the gelatine.

Whisk together the egg whites, caster sugar, and salt until frothy.

Add 7 tablespoons of the gelatine mixture and whisk for about 10 minutes on high speed until the mixture is bright white and forms stiff peaks.

Pour the marshmallow into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm round nozzle and pipe the marshmallow into the domes.  Leave a little room at the top to place the biscuits.

Re-melt the remaining chocolate leftover from tempering.  Use this to glue on the biscuits.  (If you want to add a little raspberry jam to your teacakes, spread it on top of the biscuits before sealing them together.)

Let the teacakes harden at room temperature for about 1 hour, then peel off the silicone mold.  Enjoy your homemade Tunnock's teacakes with a hot cup of tea.

You should feel proud about making these teacakes!  They're a wonderful treat, and so beautiful with that shiny tempered dome.

Pro Tips

• Use good-quality chocolate.  Since it's the principal component of these teacakes, it's important that it tastes good.
• Add a hint of raspberry jam by spreading a teaspoon of jam on each biscuit before assembling the teacakes.
• In a hurry? Skip the tempering and simply refrigerate the teacakes until they're set.
• Pipe the marshmallow all the way to the edges of the mold for the best presentation.
• Add food coloring, extracts, or freeze-dried powders to the marshmallow for additional flavours.

Recommended Tools

• Digital Thermometer: this handy tool is a must-have for tempering.
• Handheld Electric Mixer: this is an affordable alternative to a stand mixer.
• Silicone Dome Mold: this mold is the key to getting beautifully shaped teacakes.
• Wilton Baking Tray: we love these warp resistant, easy-to-clean baking trays!
• Unflavored Gelatine Powder: this gelatine helps set your marshmallow as it cools.

Other Teatime Treats

• Cornish Saffron Buns
• Coffee and Walnut Cake
• Earl Grey Shortbread
• Lemon Scones
• Ratafia Biscuits

The pleasure of a 5-star review would be greatly appreciated.

Recipe

Chocolate Teacakes with Raspberry Jam

Chocolate marshmallow teacakes are an old fashioned British treat that’s made with dark chocolate, homemade biscuits, and fluffy marshmallow.  This version even has a zingy touch of raspberry.  Learn the step by step method for making these teacakes with this recipe.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: English

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Inactive Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours

Servings: 6 teacakes

Calories: 590kcal

Author: Brooke & Emma

Ingredients

 

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US ImperialMetric

For the Biscuits

• ▢ ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• ▢ 1 ¾ tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
• ▢ 1-3 tablespoons whole milk

For the Tempered Chocolate

• ▢ 14 ounces 60% cacao chocolate chips

For the Marshmallow

• ▢ ¼ cup cold water
• ▢ 2 ¼ teaspoons unflavored gelatine powder
• ▢ 3 large egg whites
• ▢ ¾ cup caster sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

For Assembling

• ▢ 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam

Instructions

Making the Biscuits (15 min + 15 min chilling + 10 min baking)

• Combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar in a small bowl.  Rub in the butter with your fingertips, then stir in just enough milk to bring the mixture together into a dry dough.
• Gently knead the dough a couple of times until smooth, then roll out the dough to about ⅛ inch (3mm) thick and use a 3-inch (7.5cm) biscuit cutter to stamp out rounds from the dough.  You'll need at least 6 rounds.
• Transfer the biscuits to a baking tray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.  This step helps prevent the biscuits from shrinking or spreading in the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C).  Bake the biscuits until they are crisp and lightly browned underneath, about 10-15 minutes.

Tempering the Chocolate (1 hr)

• Place two thirds (300g) of the chocolate in a stainless steel mixing bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water.  Stir the mixture constantly with a silicone spatula until it has melted.  Don't let it go over 115 F (46 C) on a candy thermometer.
• Remove from the heat and let it cool to 95-100 F (35-37 C), stirring occasionally. Gradually mix in the remaining one third (100g) of the chips, stirring until they are fully melted.  If it isn't melting easily, put it back over the simmering water for a few seconds, stirring constantly.  Keep the temperature below 115 F (46 C).
• Take the bowl off the heat and let it cool until is has thickened noticeably, stirring occasionally.
• Line a 6-cavity, half-dome silicone mold with the chocolate.  Do this by spooning some into a cavity and spreading it evenly with the back of a spoon.  Work fairly quickly before it sets.  Be careful not to let all the chocolate run into the bottom of the mold, creating a thick base and thin sides.  Set aside the mold to fully set.
• Coat six of the biscuits with the chocolate and set them aside to set on a piece of baking paper.  Set the remaining chocolate aside for later.

Making the Marshmallow (20 minutes)

• Mix the unflavored gelatine powder with the cold water until smooth, then let it stand for 5 minutes.  Microwave the mixture for 20 seconds, until the gelatine is dissolved.
• Crack the egg whites into a large stainless steel mixing bowl, making sure no flecks of yolk are in the whites.  Set aside the yolks for another use.
• Add the caster sugar and salt to the egg whites and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the hot water.  Use a handheld electric mixer to beat the mixture until frothy, about 30 seconds.
• Add 7 teaspoons of the gelatin mixture and continue to whisk on high speed for about 10  to 15 minutes, until the mixture is quite stiff and pipeable.  The mixture should be forming stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted from the mixture.
• Spoon the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1 cm round tip.

Assembling the Teacakes (25 min + 45 min setting)

• Fill each hardened dome about ⅘ full with the marshmallow, making sure to get all the way to the edges.  Be careful not to overfill the domes.
• Set the bowl of chocolate back over the pan of simmering water and stir until it's melted.  Let it cool for a few minutes, then pour it into the corner of a plastic sandwich bag.  Twist the top to form a piping bag.
• Spread 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam on one side of each biscuit.
• Snip the corner off the piping bag and pipe a circle of chocolate around the edge of the marshmallow domes.  Quickly place a cookie jam side down on top of each marshmallow-filled dome and seal the gaps with more chocolate.
• Let the teacakes fully set, then remove them from the mold by carefully peeling away the silicone mold.  Don't touch the shiny dome, or it will get fingerprints on it.  Trim off any excess chocolate around the edges with a sharp knife.
• Serve the teacakes at room temperature with a cup of tea.  Make sure to store the teacakes in a cool, dry place, but not in the fridge.  Refrigeration will ruin the glossy finish and may cause blooming.

Video

Notes

• Use good-quality chocolate.  It's the key ingredient in this dessert!
• Want a hint of raspberry? Spread a teaspoon of jam on each biscuit before assembling the teacakes.
• Don't want to temper? Simply refrigerate the teacakes until they're set.
• Make sure the marshmallow goes all the way to the edges of the mold
• Create different flavours by adding food coloring, extracts, or freeze-dried powders to the marshmallow.

Nutrition

Calories: 590kcal (30%)Carbohydrates: 83g (28%)Protein: 10g (20%)Fat: 24g (37%)Saturated Fat: 21g (131%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mg (3%)Sodium: 338mg (15%)Potassium: 473mg (14%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 55g (61%)Vitamin A: 114IU (2%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 231mg (23%)Iron: 2mg (11%)

Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.

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This recipe was originally published on January 19, 2018.