This no-bake chocolate lazy cake is the easiest to make of all the cakes. It’s called “lazy” for a reason: melt, mix, chill. That’s it! Yet it’s so finger-licking delicious, I cannot stop eating till it’s gone.
For half of my life, I was certain, that lazy cake is the national Lithuanian dessert. Because it’s so popular here, everyone knows it, everyone makes it, and everyone loves it. Then it turned out, that half of my life was a lie. Some variation of it is popular all around the world: chocolate biscuit cake in the UK, chocolate salami in Italy or Portugal, also a lazy cake in the Middle East, and the list goes on. Some are made with melted chocolate, some with cocoa powder, and some contain eggs or extra flavorings. It’s not such a huge surprise that a similar cake is enjoyed in lots of places when it’s so simple yet so tasty.
Lazy cake recipe with a twist
While there are a lot of variations and a lot of possibilities to create more of them, I’m sharing my favorite one. How do I know which one is THE one? I tried A LOT of them! I tested different base recipes and different flavorings. And orange makes this cake so so good. I already praised orange zest as a magic ingredient in my ginger cookies recipe, but here it’s paired with chocolate. And is there anything better than chocolate and orange in one dessert?
The biscuits I always use for the lazy cake contain some cardamom, and it’s what makes them tastier than other similar biscuits (yes, I’ve compared them!). So I decided to spice the chocolate mixture with some cardamom too. It makes a taste fuller, but if you are not a fan, feel free to skip it, orange is the main star here anyway.
What kind of biscuits are best for lazy cake
Any simple, dry biscuits, slightly crunchier or softer, available in your region will work: plain tea biscuits, digestive biscuits, or graham crackers. Which brand is the best for you is totally a matter of your taste.
Lazy Cake with Oranges and Cardamom
Good old no-bake lazy cake improved with some orange zest and cardamom. It’s my favorite variation because the chocolate and orange combination is made in heaven for sure.
- Prep Time15 min
- Rest / Chill Time6 hr
- Yield8 serv.
Ingredients
- 320 g / 11.2 oz plain tea biscuits
- 200 g / 7 oz unsalted butter
- 400 g / 14,1 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 40 g / 1,4 oz natural cocoa powder
- 6-7 g / 0,2-0,25 oz orange zest (of one medium orange)
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
- ⅛ tsp salt
Directions
Line a 10×20 cm / 4×8 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Slightly grease the pan with some butter to make a parchment paper stick.
Break the biscuits by hand into a bowl. Set aside.
Clean the orange thoroughly with a sponge and grate the zest (orange part only).
Melt the butter in the pot on the stove.
Add cocoa powder to the butter and whisk till everything is well combined and no cocoa lumps are left.
Add sweetened condensed milk, cardamom, salt, and orange zest. Mix till smooth and well combined.
Pour the chocolate mixture on top of the biscuit pieces. Fold with a spoon till there are no dry pieces left.
Transfer the mixture to the baking pan you’ve prepared before. Level the top applying some pressure, to make sure the space between biscuit pieces is filled with chocolate mixture.
Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
When fully set, remove from the baking pan, peel off the parchment paper, slice, and serve.
notes
- Instead of using a baking pan, you can simply wrap the mixture in parchment paper and roll it into a sausage-shaped cake. I find making the cake look good this way more difficult, so I prefer using a baking pan.
