5 Ingredients or Fewer

New Zealand Lolly Cake

by:
June 28, 2018
4
4 Ratings
New Zealand Lolly Cake
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 2 hours 10 minutes
  • Makes 20-25 slices
Author Notes

When the summer hits and the heat is blaring, the last thing most of us want to do is turn on the oven. But though our desire to use the oven wanes with the heat, our love of sweet desserts doesn’t. That’s where Lolly Cake comes in—it's a sweet, delicious New Zealand cake that requires no baking at all, and tastes almost like cookie dough in texture. Traditional New Zealand Lolly Cake uses malt biscuits and Eskimo lollies, or marshmallows with a harder exterior and a chewier texture. My cousin’s husband Scott tells me everyone grew up eating lolly cake in New Zealand, and it’s a staple at a lot of local bakeries and coffee shops. You can always make this recipe into two smaller logs for smaller slices. —Miranda Keyes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 250 grams (about 20) digestive cookies or malt biscuits (if you can find them)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 cups multi-colored mini marshmallows (or regular if you can't find the colored kind)
  • 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
Directions
  1. Place cookies into a food processor and blitz into a fine crumb. If you don’t have a food processor, place the cookies in a zip-top bag and bash them with a rolling pin into crumbs.
  2. In a small pot combine butter and sweetened condensed milk over low heat. Once butter has melted, mix well to combine and remove from heat.
  3. In a small bowl combine blitzed cookie crumbs and mini marshmallows. Pour melted butter and condensed milk mixture into bowl. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Tip mixture out onto a clean counter top and shape into a log that is about 3-inches in diameter. Roll the outsides of the log in the coconut. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set (about 2-3 hours). You may need to re-roll log after 1 hour to re-set the log shape.
  4. Slice chilled log into ½ pieces. Serve. Keep leftovers in the fridge.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Christina Miller
    Christina Miller
  • Miranda Keyes
    Miranda Keyes
  • Helloplants
    Helloplants
  • Lauren Teneriello
    Lauren Teneriello

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8 Reviews

Helloplants
Helloplants May 12, 2022
Anyone know a good vegan substitute for sweetened condensed milk?
 
Lauren T.
Lauren T. August 16, 2018
Hello, I'm wondering if there is something else I can wrap this in beside coconut? I'm not a huge fan of coconut but I do still really want to try this!
 
Christina M.
Christina M. July 10, 2018
What are Digestive Cookies? Can I substitute any kind of cookie?
 
Jody C.
Jody C. July 12, 2018
Per my experience with English friends, digestives are typically served with tea and often referred to as “biscuits”. There are tons of varieties (including chocolate covered) and they are all fantastic with tea. You dunk the biscuit in the tea and it instantly softens to become this spongy soft tea soaked treat. This Wikipedia article goes into further detail https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digestive_biscuit. They are usually found in American groceries either on the cookie/cracker aisle or in the international food section. As the Wikipedia article mentions, McVitties are a good solid choice. Being as this recipe already calls for many other sweet treats, I would stay away from anything too dolled up and go for an old fashioned basic. Hope this helps!
 
Miranda K.
Miranda K. July 12, 2018
Exactly Jody! McVitties are my fave (if you can find them) but I know there are other brands that make them as well. Any sort of plain biscuit should work if you can't find digestives or malt biscuits.
 
Helloplants
Helloplants May 12, 2022
I personally used golden Oreos (a fancy biscuit) without the cream center (I removed it with a butter knife). It tasted fine.
 
elhutch44
elhutch44 July 8, 2018
Oh my god! I haven't seen any reference to lolly cake in forever! Brings back fond memories of making lolly cake in intermediate school when my family moved to Invercargill, NZ for a brief time. To be honest, I thought it was pretty gross then (too sweet!), but it may be time to try again! Thanks for posting :)
 
Miranda K.
Miranda K. July 12, 2018
Definitely try again! These are definitely a nostalgic treat for a lot of people! :)