School Dinner Chocolate Concrete with Pink Custard 🍫💖
A true British school dinner classic! Chocolate concrete is a crunchy, chocolatey traybake, best served with warm, sweet pink custard for that nostalgic taste of childhood.
🛒 Ingredients:
For the chocolate concrete:
🌾 Plain flour: 200g
🍫 Cocoa powder: 50g
🍬 Caster sugar: 150g
🧈 Unsalted butter: 150g, melted
🥄 Egg: 1, beaten
🥄 Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
For the pink custard:
🥛 Whole milk: 500ml
🌽 Cornflour: 50g
🍬 Caster sugar: 75g
🥄 Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
🍓 Strawberry or raspberry flavouring: ½ tsp
🌸 Pink food colouring: A few drops
👨🍳 Method:
1️⃣ 🔥 Preheat the oven – Set your oven to 180°C (fan 160°C) and grease a baking tray (about 20cm x 20cm).
2️⃣ 🍫 Make the chocolate concrete – In a bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, and sugar. Pour in the melted butter, then add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Mix well until it forms a stiff dough.
3️⃣ 🧱 Press & bake – Press the dough firmly into the baking tray (it should be packed down for that classic "concrete" texture). Bake for 20 minutes, then remove and allow to cool slightly—it will harden as it cools.
4️⃣ 🥛 Make the pink custard – In a saucepan, heat 400ml of milk until warm. In a separate bowl, mix the cornflour and sugar with the remaining 100ml milk to form a smooth paste.
5️⃣ 🌸 Thicken the custard – Slowly pour the paste into the warm milk, stirring constantly. Continue to stir over medium heat until thickened. Add vanilla, strawberry or raspberry flavouring, and pink food colouring.
6️⃣ 🍽️ Serve & enjoy – Break the chocolate concrete into squares and serve with a generous drizzle of warm pink custard.
⏱️ Cooking Info:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 squares
Calories: ~350 per serving
Crunchy, chocolatey, and topped with smooth pink custard—this is school dinner nostalgia at its finest! 🍫💖😋