Robyn Lawley Eats

CHERRY RIPE SLICE

Preparation time: 50 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Makes: 15–20 squares

Base
11/2 cups plain flour
3 tbsp dutch (dark) cocoa powder
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g salted butter, chopped and softened
50ml cold milk

Cherry Filling
600g glacé cherries
125g condensed milk
150g desiccated coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
400g dark chocolate, chopped

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and line an 18cm square cake tin with baking paper.
2. To make the base, put the flour, cocoa, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and rub in the butter until it’s utterly worked through and all the lumps have gone. Add the milk and mix to a soft dough.
3. Press into the base of the tin firmly and evenly. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until set and dry on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
4. To make the filling, put the cherries into a food processor, and process until very finely chopped. (this can be done by hand if you have the patience and don’t mind the stickiness.) Mix in the condensed milk, coconut and vanilla until you have a smooth, pink, coconut paste. Spread evenly over the chocolate base. Return to the oven and bake for a further 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave until cold.
5. For the topping, melt the dark chocolate (I prefer to melt the chocolate the traditional way, in a bowl over simmering water on a stovetop) and spread over the top. Leave to set.
6. Cut into bars, then refrigerate. The chocolate will become quite hard in the fridge, so it’s better to slice first.