Aussie recipe: Chocolate Ripple Cake

Now this is a classic Australian dessert or afternoon tea treat, greatly loved by children and elderly relations alike. Quick and very, very easy.

What you need

• 300ml cream
• 1 tsp castor sugar
• Vanilla essence
• 1 pack Chocolate Ripple Biscuits
• Crushed nuts
• Grated chocolate

What you do

• Add sugar and a drop of vanilla essence to the cream and whip until very stiff.
• Join biscuits together by standing one biscuit on its side and sandwiching with the next biscuit, using a generous spread of cream. Continue until all the biscuits have been joined up and look a little like a log.
• Cover the log thickly and entirely with the remaining cream. Place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours to set.
• Before serving, decorate log with grated chocolate, if desired.
• To serve, cut cake at a slight angle to make sure each slice has alternate layers of chocolate biscuit and cream. Serve with seasonal berries, if desired.
• To add extra flavour to the cake, brush the biscuits with a spirit or liqueur of choice, for example rum or Kuhlua, before sandwiching together, or add a splash of alcohol to the cream before whipping. For something different, instead of Chocolate Ripples, try Ginger Nuts and add some fresh ginger to the whipped cream