Thank you gifts - amaretti chocolate biscuit cake

I'm sorry to say it's time to say goodbye to Italy. This past month and a bit has been more incredible than I ever could have hoped and, if one thing's for certain, it's that I will definitely return. Goodbye's are difficult enough as it is, but now I've been faced with the challenge of finding suitable thank you gifts. How on earth to you find something meaningful enough to say thank you to people who have fed you, housed you, taken you for coffee, invited you for lunch, taught you how to cook, welcomed you whole heartedly into their families and generally made you just feel completely loved and at home? No bar of soap or box of chocolates in the world could cover all that. I decided that the only option was to make something myself. No, in monetary terms, these biscuits are nowhere near as valuable as diamonds and pearls, but I think I gift that takes time, thought and love goes a lot further than a flashy purchase. I made these in big batches and packaged them up in jam jars with pretty bits of ribbon, but you could package them however you like, be a bit creative... or, if you've got no one to thank at the moment, just give yourself a pat on the back and tuck in. Having said that (and I'll apologise now because all these goodbyes are making my soft and gushy...) this makes a big batch, so it'd be nice to choose someone to share them with, even if it's someone you don't have an obvious reason to thank, people always love cake, and it's never a bad thing to brighten someone's day. Sorry, I think all that Italian generosity is starting to rub off on me... that was more sickly sweet than the biscuits.

As for the biscuit cakes themselves, I took inspiration from a community recipe for amaretti biscuit cake on Nigella Lawson's website. I found the recipe a little crumbly so I added a little more butter and syrup, as well as a topping of melted chocolate to help hold them together. I also decided to use 50:50 digestives:amaretti biscuits because amaretti alone was just too sweet for me (hence the further tiny addition of salt - it's no secret any more that salt is incredible when added to chocolate and it definitely does wonders here to take the edge off the sweetness).

This is essentially an incredibly simple recipe. The method looks big and complicated because I've tried to explain why you do certain things, however it is essentially: Crush biscuits; melt butter, syrup, sugar, cocoa and salt together, combine with biscuits, press into a tin and top with a layer of melted, slightly salted chocolate and toasted almonds - that's it. Feel free to read on to the more detailed method, but no offence taken if you can't be bothered.

250g digestives, finely crushed
250g amaretti biscuits (the crunchy ones, not the cakey soft ones), finely crushed
3 tbsp. golden syrup
2 tbsp. caster sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
175g butter
Two small pinches of salt
200g plain chocolate
100g whole, blanched almonds, toasted and chopped small

• Add the butter to a large, heavy bottomed saucepan and melt it slightly on a low heat.
• Once slightly melted, add the syrup, sugar and cocoa (this two stage approach is to stop the sugar and cocoa having direct contact with the bottom of the saucepan - they both catch very easily) and continue to melt on a very low heat, stirring regularly.
• Once fully melted (taste to check the sugar's dissolved) and combined, stir in a small pinch of salt.
• Add the biscuits and combine everything together - the mix will feel slightly dry, but don't worry - it should hold together if you squeeze a small amount in your hand to form a ball. If in doubt, just add the biscuits bit by bit and test as you go, depending on how chocolaty/biscuity you want your cake.
• Spoon the mixture into a rectangular dish with straight sides - don't worry about the size of your dish, you can choose how deep you want to make them - but don't go much thinner than a couple of inches or else they won't hold together.
• Press the mixture down really firmly with your hands.
• Melt the chocolate, combine with a tiny pinch of salt and pour over the biscuit mix to form a thin top (this helps them to hold together) and then scatter over the almonds.
• Chill in the fridge for at least two hours before cutting into squares - you may want to dip your knife in hot water before you cut to help it go through the chocolate layer.