There are some biscuits that are synonymous with British culture; Custard Creams, Jammy Dodgers, the classic Digestive. Any Brit will tell you that there are biscuits that are good for dunking in a cup of tea and those to be avoided.

I’ve attempted to recreate some of the biscuits from my childhood over the past few years, but I’ve never been privy to any of the secret recipes guarded by the likes of McVities. A while back I started following fellow home baker Paige on TikTok, who goes by Paige Baked That. Instead of your classic and familiar sweet treats, she takes it to another level.

By level, I mean size. Paige supersizes some of the most recognisable cakes, bakes and biscuits, which in my opinion, is far more fun.

Previously, I recreated her Giant Party Ring recipe, but this time I tackled one of the most delectable and easily inhalable biccys: the Milk Chocolate Digestive. Digestives, for anyone unfamiliar, are semi-sweet biscuits where early recipes included baking soda, known to be good for digestion (et voila).

My personal favourite is the Dark Chocolate Digestive. I could inhale half a pack in one sitting without trying.

Paige’s recipe is simple and accessible to follow, so why wouldn’t I try it? The biscuit base is straightforward, and you want to make sure it’s not too dry, but also not too wet.

You’ll need some patience and some steady hands when it comes to engraving the iconic design on the base. If you don’t have any modelling tools, I did mine with the narrow end of a chopstick.

As a fairly knowledgeable home baker, from my experience completing the recipe. I would say that the amount of ingredients would need to be altered slightly.

When bringing my biscuit dough together, the dough was already fairly malleable and needed no added water. If I’d added any, it would’ve probably been too squishy to hold its shape.

45 minutes was enough time for the dough to set before molding, but the recipe didn’t indicate how long it would need to rest for a second time. I allowed for at least another half an hour in the fridge, but upon reflection, it certainly needed at least 45 minutes to an hour.

The biscuit base began to expand and my perfectly crafted engraved slowly melted away until barely-there shallow divots could be seen. I rectified as much as I could, but the result is as neat as I’d like.

There could be a multitude of reasons why the biscuit didn’t hold its shape; either it hadn’t set enough in the fridge, there was an imbalance of butter to flour or vice versa, or the oven was too hot. Whichever way it was, something needs to be revised.

I would also recommend increasing the quantity of the milk chocolate. Paige listed between 100 and 150 grams, but I think it’s always better to overestimate the for decoration just so you can have enough. I’d start with 200 grams and go from there.

The chocolate worked like a glue to hold the partially cracked biscuit together. I just had to be very delicate with it so as to not break it apart.

I left the biscuit to set in the fridge overnight and with some luck, the chocolate managed to cement the broken bit back together. Praise the biscuit gods!

Regardless of the amendments I suggested above, the final result was delicious. There’s nothing quite like eating a biscuit that’s larger than your own head.

The biscuit was toasty and slightly salty, cutting through the creamy milk chocolate so it’s not too sickly. Honestly, I’ve impressed myself.

You can attempt to make your own with Paige’s recipe.

Milk Chocolate Digestive Biscuit 

Ingredients

• 100g wholemeal flour
• 100g plain flour
• 100g oat flour or oats, blitzed until fine
• 300g butter, cold and cubed
• 80g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 100-150g milk chocolate

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the wholemeal flour, plain flour, oat flour, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda, and a pinch of salt. Stir to evenly distribute the ingredients.

Add the cubed cold butter to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor.

Gradually add a small amount of cold water to the mixture, stirring until the dough begins to come together. Refrigerate dough for 45 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it to desired thickness. I used a bowl as a template for my circle. Add signature design. Refrigerate the dough again to ensure my design keeps its shape.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Keep an eye on them as baking times can vary depending on thickness.

Once baked, remove the biscuits from the oven and allow them to cool.

Melt the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, pour chocolate on top of the biscuit and spread evenly creating your desired pattern.

Leave to set and then enjoy!