The Hedgehog Slice
An Iconic Australian Recipe Gem
Back in the day, the popular dishes seemed to be those with ‘fabulous’ shortcuts. Those recipe gems, as I like to call them. That chicken with a tin of apricots and a packet of French onion soup mix. That dip made with cream cheese and French onion soup mix. That brisket drowned in coca cola and (yes you guessed it) French onion soup mix. Classics of the 70s?
During our recipe collecting, we come across seriously good recipes that do contain the odd processed or packaged product and we need to decide whether or not that recipe with that product should be included. We have the most UNBELIEVABLE cinnamon cake in The Feast Goes On that has, as one ingredient, a vanilla pudding mix. We know, it does make us cringe just a little, but if I tell you that this cake is SO GOOD that it is worth it just this time. And what about the AMAZING South African cheesecake from Monday Morning Cooking Club with the base made from Arnott’s Marie biscuits and butter. Worth it again!
And what about the classic and scrumptious (I believe Australian) Hedgehog Slice, always made with a sweet biscuit (cookie) and often made with one from a packet? Basically, the biscuits are broken up and tossed through a chocolate mixture. It is then poured into a tin and refrigerated overnight. It is sliced to serve and is perfect with a cup of tea.
The good thing about the Hedgehog is that you can choose your own biscuit. Marie, Digestives or Graham crackers work well. You can even make your own if you want to go the trouble. But we’re happy to go with the flow, and use our favourite biscuit – the digestive. It is a wholewheat-tasting, just-sweet crumbly biscuit, perfect for cheese cake bases and Hedgehogs.
Miriam Millingen, a good friend of the MMCC, is a wonderful cook. She is originally from Adelaide and now lives in Melbourne, Australia. Miriam is kind enough to share her fabulous recipe with us so that we can share it with you.
Miriam's Hedgehog Slice
Ingredients
- 125 g unsalted butter, chopped 4 oz
- 115 g caster sugar ½ cup
- 3 tablespoons best quality cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 1 egg
- 250 g Marie or Digestive biscuits (cookies) broken into pieces
- 1 cup marshmallows chopped
ICING (optional)
- 2 teaspoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons best quality cocoa powder (unsweetened)
Instructions
- Line a medium loaf tin with baking paper.
- Combine the butter, sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan until melted together. Cool slightly, add the egg and stir through. Add the biscuits and marshmallows and stir through.
- Press into the tin and place in the fridge until set.
- When set, cut into small squares. Can serve un-iced or ice with chocolate icing.
