Chocolate Balls

I've often tried these at Christmas parties and never liked them much.  They were always too sweet and sickly tasting.  So here's a more enjoyable version...

1 x 250g packet Choc Ripple Biscuits (Arnotts), or similar plain chocolate biscuit
100g dark chocolate
120g raw almonds
about 2/3 of a 395g tin of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coconut

Process Choc Ripple biscuits in a food processor until fine.  Empty into a seperate bowl.

Process dark chocolate into small pieces.  Add to ground Choc Ripple biscuits in bowl.

Process almonds into small pieces.  Add to other ingredients in bowl and mix well.

Add sweetened condensed milk gradually, stirring well until mixture is just combined and sticky.  Don't use more than necessary to create the right texture, as this ingredient is what will make the balls too sweet.

Spread coconut out on a plate.  Form mixture into small balls and roll in coconut.

Place in refrigerator for a few hours to become firm (overnight is okay).

Another yummy addition would be pieces of glace cherries....

Choc Ripple Tim Tam Cake

I created this awesome, rich, Tim Tam cake, Choc Ripple style, for Gunnar's birthday on the weekend.  Here's how it goes:

300ml cream (add an extra 100ml if you want to cover the edges as well and completely incase the cake)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon icing suger/caster sugar
1 x 250g packet Choc Ripple biscuits
1 pkt Tim Tams, original or dark chocolate, + 1 Tim Tam more

Fresh strawberries, to serve.

Beat cream, sugar and vanilla essence together until firm peaks form.

Spread a little cream on some baking paper or cake plate as the base, making a circle shape.  Place seven choc ripple biscuits on the base, close together.  Crumble one Choc Ripple biscuit on the side and use crumbs to fill in the gaps between each biscuit.

Spread a thin layer of cream on top of the Choc Ripple biscuits.

Crumble your Tim Tams, the size is up to you.  The larger the chunks, the more crunchy the cake will be (and harder to cut neatly).  Fill in the gaps with smaller pieces.

Spread over another layer of cream, and repeat the Choc Ripple and Tim Tam layers again, with cream in between.

Finish with a layer of cream. 

Refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight.

Before serving, wash and hull strawberries (remove tops).  Halve them and place on top in whatever pattern you like. 

Enjoy!

If you don't have access to Choc Ripple biscuits, you can use any plain baked chocolate biscuits.  The idea is that the Choc Ripple biscuits and the biscuit part of theTim Tams absorb moisture from the cream, making them soft like cake.