Taste of Australia (Part 5): Homemade Tim Tams

Today I bring you the final instalment of my Taste of Australia series.



Did you miss the other instalments??

• Part 1: Kangaroo and Macadamia Salad
• Part 2: Vegemite scrolls
• Part 3: Layered Lamington Cake
• Part 4: Damper

No Taste of Australia series would be complete without a BBB tribute to the iconic Tim Tam.



This much loved biscuit consists of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.



Named after the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby in 1958, these biscuits have become a popular "staple" in Australian households, so much so 35 million packets are sold each year!

Now THAT is a lot of Tim Tams.

It was with some hesitation that I set myself the task of making a homemade Tim Tam. A gluten free homemade Tim Tam nonetheless. Perhaps it was the slightly sacrilegious task of attempting to copy an Aussie favourite that had me worried. Or perhaps it was the fact I could find no recipe or hint, either online or elsewhere, to give me some guidance in tackling this task.

It was at this stage that I decided a tribute to the Tim Tam would be my aim, rather than a direct copy.
Oh yeah, I went there ;)

As I saw it, there were three elements I needed to recreate. Biscuit, chocolate cream and chocolate covering.

For my biscuit layers, I selected these GF tea biscuits. Although if you weren't looking for a gluten free version you could easily use regular tea biscuits and / or chococlate biscuits.



Yes I know…they should have been chocolate biscuits. But after all, this is a tribute right?

The chocolate cream layer was the one that stumped me the most. Did I go with ganache? No - too bold. Did I go with icing? No - probably too sweet. In the end, I decided to make a combination. Starting with this chocolate spread...

    

Combined with cream and a little icing sugar, warmed, then allowed to cool in the fridge.

For the chocolate coating, I melted a large block of milk chocolate, stirring until shiny, then removed it from the heat. I also stirred through a teaspoon of coconut oil.



Then it was construction time....

Biscuit



Chocolate cream





Biscuit





Dipped.





Repeat.



The result....



A homemade tribute to an Aussie favourite...



Ok - so they may not have been as pretty as the original...



But they were a tribute nonetheless.



Side by side…



And on the inside…



And the best part?



They actually tasted pretty close to the original!  I recommend you make a batch.

 

ASAP!

They could even be used for the Tim Tam Slam!

Homemade Tim Tams (GF) – makes 14

• 1pkt GF tea biscuits (or you could use regular plain chocolate biscuits if you wanted to make a non GF version)
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 tbs chocolate spread
• 60g +400g  milk chocolate
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1tsp coconut oil

1. Heat cream in microwave, then add chocolate spread, icing sugar and 60g milk chocolate, chopped, and stir to combine.
2. Chill in fridge for 1 –2 hours.
3. Take one biscuit and spread with chocolate cream. Sandwich with another biscuit. Repeat until all the biscuits and chocolate cream have been used. Freeze for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt remaining 400g milk chocolate. Stir through coconut oil and mix until shiny.
5. One at a time, dip the filled biscuits in the melted chocolate, tapping gently to remove excess chocolate. Place on a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat.
6. Refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours or until the chocolate has set.

And so concludes my Taste of Australia series ... for now at least.  I hope that you have enjoyed reading about some favourite Australian foods. Let me know if you would like to see more!

What about you? Are you a Tim Tam Fan? Ever done the Tim Tam Slam?


Happy Baking :)