Recently, we shared that slow cookers might be your unlikely supper saviour during the heatwave. Though they’re typically associated with stodgy winter dishes, their lower temperatures and better insulation mean they won’t heat your kitchen up anywhere near as much as an oven would – and you won’t have to stand over a hot stove, either.
Still, sometimes, the most obvious solution is best. That’s the case for fridge cakes, IMO. The most heat they usually require is melting butter, which, in cases like these, is often best done in the microwave.
Here are five of the best recipes I’ve tried and tested:
Bannoffee pie/rocky road/Nutella cheesecake5 of the best fridge cakes
1) Mary Berry’s perfect banoffee pie
Mary Berry’s banoffee pieSome things, you just can’t leave to chance – so, when I found myself craving a banoffee pie, I knew only Mary would do. Her astonishingly easy recipe relies on a biscuit base (Digestives, of course), velvety caramel, a cooling layer of banana, some just-whipped cream, and a chocolate topping.
I went for grated chocolate rather than the GBBO star’s suggested melted chocolate “lattice”. Not only do I find this looks better and has a preferable texture, but it so happens that it’s more manageable in a heatwave, too.
Psst – though Mary’s caramel recipe is, of course, perfect, I don’t think she’d judge you for buying the premade kind in this heat.
Nutella cheescakeA good fridge cake has something of the feel of a primary school “potion”: half the fun is stirring delicious gloops into a cauldron-like bowl. Not that it’s a bad thing, but they usually bring that naïveté to their saccharine, nostalgic taste, too.
While I personally think that’s part of fridge cakes’ appeal, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of flavour Nigella’s easy-peasy, scoop-and-stir Nutella cheesecake delivered. Its tangy cream cheese and buttery walnuts make the silky dessert taste almost adult; coffee might even drag it towards the almost untrodden bounds of “fridge cake sophistication”.
Apple crumble cheesecakeMary Berry adds butter to her stewed apples, which I’ve found makes this decadent dessert from Jane’s Patisserie even more luxurious. Still, stewing apples is one of the hottest, longest pieces of cooking on this list, so I reckon some pre-stewed ones, or even apple sauce, would be great for this heat.
Alternatively, a range of jams or soft fruit would be delicious: there’s a case to be made here for a tangy blueberry or raspberry jam, or some buttery Biscoff spread, for instance.
Sadly, the baked crumble topping is less negotiable. Still, what can be done in an oven can usually be managed in an air fryer for far less time – just cook them until they’re barely browned.
Rocky roadIreland takes rocky road extremely seriously, which might be why I never quite managed to find the perfect version online. Over the years, though, I discovered a base recipe that comes close to perfect – and have since adapted it into an all-guns-blazing recipe worthy of a birthday party.
The only heat involved is melting butter and chocolate, both of which I feel are best done in the microwave, in short bursts. Heat your butter first if you use this method; chocolate returns to its solid form a lot faster, even in this heat.
I like stem ginger, dried cranberries, walnuts, mini marshmallows, and more in my rocky road. It is not a minimalist’s dessert. But for this to work, you’ll need to use pretty good dark chocolate; milk will get it on the wrong side of wincingly sweet.
Chocolate salamiIreland’s not the only one that likes a chocolate-biscuit-butter combo, it seems. Italy’s “chocolate salame” is predictably a little more grown-up, though – think less Matlesers and more amaretto, less mini marshmallows and more crushed pistachio.
Often eaten around Christmas, I happen to feel it’s perfect year-round (here’s hoping it brings the colder weather with it).
