Christmas Tiffin: A Festive No-Bake Fridge Cake
Embrace the festive spirit with this recipe for Christmas tiffin. It’s a rich no-bake fridge cake and is packed with Scottish shortbread, rum soaked raisins, chewy cranberries and warm spices. A few pretzels give crunch and a burst of saltiness to counteract some of the sweetness. To finish it off, it’s topped with a layer of smooth creamy chocolate.
Tiffin, also known as biscuit cake, is one of my all time favourite treats. After all, who can resist biscuits coated in chocolate? And in essence that’s what tiffin is. What’s more it’s easy to make and requires no baking.
This festive no-bake Christmas tiffin recipe combines buttery shortbread, rum-soaked raisins, chewy cranberries, salty pretzels, warm spices and a rich layer of dark milk chocolate. Perfect for holiday parties, gifting or indulging with a cup of cocoa. Easy to make and irresistibly delicious, it’s the ultimate Christmas dessert idea. Save this pin for a crowd-pleasing treat that’s full of festive flavour. #HolidayBaking #NoBakeDesserts
Dive Right In
- Why Make Christmas Tiffin
- Let’s Make Christmas Tiffin
- Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
- How To Make Christmas Tiffin
- How To Make Vegan Christmas Tiffin
- Other Tiffin Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- Pin It
- The Recipe
Why Make Christmas Tiffin?
Tiffin is such a crowd pleaser, it’s the perfect thing to make during the holiday season. This Christmas tiffin is infused with festive flavours. And what’s more, it’s not overly sweet.
If you need any kind of convincing at all, here are a few reasons as to why you’ll want to make it.
- Adaptable – Although I think this recipe is perfect as it is, you might prefer your own twist. Luckily, this Christmas tiffin is easy to adapt in all sorts of ways.
- Crowd Pleaser – The combination of chocolate and biscuit (cookie) is a classic favourite that appeals to just about everyone.
- Easy-To-Make – Christmas is a busy time of year, so tiffin scores well if time is something you’re short of. It’s a no-bake treat that requires little effort. Although it takes a while to set, hands on time is minimal.
- Festive Flavours – With shortbread, rum-soaked raisins, cranberries and warm spices, Christmas tiffin encapsulates the cozy, indulgent tastes of the winter holiday season.
- Keep Everyone Guessing – The mix of buttery shortbread, chewy cranberries, boozy raisins and salty pretzels offers a delightful contrast of textures as well as flavours. Every bite is both exciting and delicious.
- Smooth Finish – The dark milk chocolate topping makes the tiffin look particularly appealing and adds a luscious finishing touch.
Let’s Make Christmas Tiffin
Not only is tiffin easy to make, but you can adapt it to any occasion. Add chocolate eggs at Easter, decorate with chocolate hearts for Valentine’s Day, cover it in chocolate and candles for birthdays. Need I go on?
In order to make this fridge cake a Christmas themed tiffin, I’ve used shortbread instead of digestive biscuits, cranberries and rum-soaked raisins instead of plain raisins and festive spices. It really does taste of Christmas.
I’ve also added a few pretzels for extra crunch and a bit of saltiness. Salt and sweet is such a good combination, no wonder it’s loved around the world. Although this tiffin is definitely sweet, it’s not at all sickly. I’ve reduced the amount of sugar and syrup that’s often used in these types of recipes and the chocolate tempers it even further.
Unusually for me, I’ve used cocoa powder in the main tiffin mix rather than chocolate. This too helps to stop the tiffin from being overly sweet. I’ve reserved the chocolate for a luscious topping instead. It is Christmas after all.
I mix dark and milk chocolate together in order to get a beautifully rich layer, which whilst not being too sweet, is still smooth and creamy. Dark milk chocolate is my favourite for this reason.
Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
Although you need a few ingredients to make Christmas tiffin, you’re likely to have most of them in your store cupboard.
Biscuits
Instead of the usual digestive biscuits (graham crackers) we’re going with buttery shortbread instead. It has a softer texture, but a richer flavour and it’s THE traditional Christmas biscuit.
Unless you’re making a vegan version of this tiffin, go for all butter shortbread. It’s pricier, but worth it. Alternatively make your own. I have any number of shortbread recipes here on Tin and Thyme.
Salty pretzels aren’t the most obvious type of biscuit to add to tiffin, but they work really well. They add crunch as well as that hit of saltiness. If you don’t like the idea though, just swap them for more shortbread.
Butter
Use unsalted butter for this recipe if you can. It gives a creamier and more luscious flavour and texture than ordinary butter.
Chocolate
Instead of melted chocolate going into the tiffin mix, I’ve used a mix of cocoa powder and sugar in this recipe. The cocoa makes it deliciously rich, but also helps to keep the cost down.
I’ve kept the sugar to a minimum and have used dark muscovado as it’s less refined than most and has a lovely rich caramel flavour. However, it’s fine to use whatever brown sugar you have to hand.
The top tiffin layer is a chocolate one. You can use whatever type of chocolate for this that you prefer. I’ve used half dark chocolate at 80% cocoa solids and half milk chocolate at 35%. This makes a dark milk chocolate that isn’t too sweet, but isn’t too rich or bitter either.
Use a good quality cook’s chocolate or couverture chocolate if you can. Look for it in the baking aisle of your local supermarket rather than the confectionery section. It generally has a higher cocoa butter content than ordinary chocolate so that it melts better.
BTW, in case you’re looking, I didn’t have room to include the chocolate bars I used in the ingredients image.
Dried Fruit
Traditionally, tiffin is made with raisins. As this is a Christmas themed version, I’ve upped the game with rum soaked raisins. I have a jar of these permanently on the go. You just never know when you might need them.
However, you don’t have to use rum for this recipe. You can soak the raisins in whatever you like. Whisky, brandy and amaretto all work brilliantly. And if you prefer to steer clear of alcohol, soak them in orange juice instead.
As well as raisins, I’ve added some dried cranberries for an additional Christmas vibe. These aren’t soaked, so you get a chewy texture in the tiffin mix as well as the softer raisins.
Syrup
Golden syrup is the traditional sweetener for tiffin. It’s what I’ve used. However, if you fancy going upmarket a bit, you can swap it for runny honey. That will give it a different flavour profile, but a worthwhile one.
Extras
If you use orange juice rather than alcohol to soak the raisins in, you may as well grate in the orange zest at the same time. After all, oranges are quintessentially Christmas.
Nuts are another festive ingredient you might want to include. Choose your favourite and toast them first. A handful is about right. Once toasted and cooled roughly chop and add to the mix.
How To Make Christmas Tiffin
Tiffin is ever so easy to make. The most difficult part is melting the chocolate. However, it does require a couple of hours to set as well as time to soak the raisins.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Soak Raisins
Place the raisins in a small bowl or jar. Add the rum or liquid of your choice and leave to soak for at least two hours. Overnight is best if you can manage it. I have a jar of rum soaked raisins permanently on the go for just such occasions as this.
Step 2. Melt Butter
Place the butter in a small pan together with the syrup, sugar, cocoa and spices. Put the pan over a low heat and leave it until the butter has melted.
Stir to ensure there are no lumps, then remove from the heat.
Step 3. Crush Biscuits
Meanwhile bash the shortbread into rough crumbs with a few larger pieces remaining. You can do this in a number of ways.
- My preferred method, which creates less waste and less washing up. Place the biscuits in a large mixing bowl and pound them with a pestle or the end of a rolling pin.
- Use a food processor. But be careful not to make the crumbs too fine.
- Place the biscuits in a zip loc plastic bag and roll a rolling pin back and forth over them.
Add the pretzels to the bowl and roughly break them up. You want pieces here though rather than crumbs. A pestle or end of a rolling pin are best for this.
Add the cranberries to the bowl and give a good stir.
Step 4. Mix And Spread
Pour the melted butter mix into the bowl and stir until everything is completely covered.
Add the rum soaked raisins together with any leftover liquid and stir again.
Either line your tin with baking paper or lightly butter a silicone mould. As you can see I use a silicone mould so I don’t need to use any paper.
Scrape the mixture into the tin or mould. Using the back of a metal spoon, press it down into an even layer.
Leave in a cool place to start firming up whilst you melt the chocolate.
Top Tip
If you decide to use orange juice rather than rum or some other booze, you might want to add some finely grated orange zest to the mix too. If you do this, make sure your orange is unwaxed and preferably organic.
Step 5. Melt Chocolate
Break the chocolate bars into small pieces or chop them with a knife.
Transfer the pieces to a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of nearly boiling water. Leave well alone until it looks as though the chocolate has melted. At this point, stir to mix the two chocolates together and ensure it’s all melted and smooth.
Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the tiffin. Tilt the tin until the top is completely covered. Bang the tin down on the counter top a couple of times to ensure an even covering.
Decorate the top whilst the chocolate is still liquid. This way it will set around the decorations and hold them in place. Use whatever you like. I went for festive sprinkles. However, melted white chocolate swirled amongst the dark is very effective.
Leave to set in a cool place for at least two hours. I left mine overnight.
6. Slice
Once the chocolate has properly set, lift it out of the tin using the paper lining and place it on a chopping board.
If, like me you used a silicone mould, turn it out onto a board or large plate, then carefully flip it over onto a chopping board. The main aim is not to get your fingers on the chocolate as they will likely mark it.
Using a large sharp knife, carefully slice the tiffin into sixteen equal sized squares. Don’t worry if some bits fall out, they’re called cook’s perks.
Will keep in a sealed container in a cool place for five days.
Top Tips
To prevent the chocolate from cracking when you cut the tiffin, use a hot knife. Place the knife into a tall container of just boiled water. Wipe it dry with a tea towel or piece of kitchen towel then slice carefully without putting to much pressure on the tiffin. Repeat after each cut.
Alternatively, add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the chocolate as it melts. This works well, but the chocolate will taste slightly different and it won’t be as firm when you come to eat it.
How To Make Vegan Christmas Tiffin
Once upon a time I’d have said don’t bother making a plant-based version of Christmas tiffin. But luckily vegan ingredients have improved so much over recent years, you can easily make a delicious tasting tiffin that’s not full of trans fats and goodness knows what else.
So to make vegan Christmas tiffin, follow the recipe as is, but use a good quality plant-based butter instead of the dairy butter. If you want to make your own, I have a recipe for vegan butter.
Likewise go for the best vegan shortbread you can find, or make your own. Most pretzels are vegan anyway, but just check the ingredients list before buying.
The only other ingredient you need to change is the chocolate. Make sure any chocolate you buy is vegan. There are some really good vegan milk chocolate cooking drops now as well as dark.
Other Tiffin Recipes You Might Like
- Chocolate amaretto biscuit cake
- Chocolate coconut biscuit cake
- Easy Easter tiffin
- Lemon tiffin bars (gluten-free)
- Pecan maple ginger tiffin
- Sour cherry tiffin
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this Christmas tiffin recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making fridge cakes?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, tag me @choclette8 so I can see them.
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If you’d like more cupcake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Christmas Tiffin. PIN IT.
Christmas Tiffin: A Festive No-Bake Fridge Cake
Ingredients
- 50 g raisins
- 50 ml rum brandy and whisky are both good substitutes – or use orange juice instead
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp golden syrup
- 25 g dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp mixed spice or festive spices of your choice (I used ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves)
- 200 g shortbread biscuits
- 50 g mini pretzels
- 50 g dried cranberries
- 100 g dark chocolate (I used 80% cocoa solids) – chopped
- 100 g milk chocolate (I used 35% cocoa solids) – chopped
- Festive sprinkles
Instructions
- Soak the raisins in the rum, or liquid of your choice for at least two hours, overnight if you can. I have a jar of rum soaked raisins permanently on the go for just such occasions as this.50 g raisins, 50 ml rum
- Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat together with the syrup, sugar, cocoa and spices. Stir to ensure everything is well mixed and there are no lumps, then remove from the heat.150 g unsalted butter, 3 tbsp golden syrup, 25 g dark brown sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp mixed spice
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, bash the shortbread into rough crumbs with a few larger pieces remaining. A pestle or the end of a rolling pin are good for this.200 g shortbread biscuits
- Add the pretzels to the bowl and roughly break them up. The afore mentioned tools are good for this too.50 g mini pretzels
- Add the cranberries to the bowl and give a good stir.50 g dried cranberries
- Pour the melted butter mix into the bowl and stir. Add the rum soaked raisins together with any leftover liquid and stir again.
- Scrape the mixture into a lined 20cm (8 inch) square tin. Press it down as evenly as you can with the back of a spoon.
- Leave in a cool place to start setting.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of nearly boiling water. Stir to mix the chocolates and ensure it’s all melted.100 g dark chocolate, 100 g milk chocolate
- Pour over the tiffin in the tin. Tilt the tin until the top is completely covered. Bang the tin down on the counter top a couple of times to ensure an even covering.
- Decorate with festive sprinkles, if liked.Festive sprinkles
- Leave to set in a cool place for at least two hours. I left mine overnight.
- Once set, cut the tiffin into sixteen equal squares using a warm sharp knife.
sounds great. I like to mix chocolates too. Merry Christmas!
cheers
sherry
Thank you. Merry Christmas to you too.
Super yummy treat! I did however use double the amount of chocolate . I rather ambitiously made half with rum and half with gin to cater to different family members tastes. The finished product is delicious. Thank you for posting wonderful recipes!,
Yay, love the idea of gin as well as two versions. Double chocolate can only be a good thing. Thanks so much for feeding back and Merry Christmas.