Gluten Free Timtams
Updated: Oct 21, 2021
Makes 25. Takes 1 hour + 4 hour chilling time.
This biscuit is a special mention in my New Zealand Baking challenge because, well, it's Australian. But hey, our countries share a lot of things such as, the rest of the world being unable to distinguish our accents, pavlovas, drinking culture, a can-do attitude, and saying 'mate'. So I'm confident that sneaking this one in will be ok with our Australian Cuzzies. The original Tim Tam is a humble biscuit made by the brand Arnott's, first sold in 1964, consisting of two malted biscuits separated by chocolate buttercream and coated in chocolate. This original Tim Tam is what I've tried to recreate, but gluten free. My plan is to make a few more of the different varieties, like caramel, white chocolate, or red velvet. If you have any suggestions of what type of Tim Tam you'd like to see next, throw them my way.
I have also made a recipe video for this as well! Check it out below:
Can you Tim Tam Slam it?
Yes, you absolutely can. I have tested over 10 times.
If you unsure what a Tim Tam Slam is, let me enlighten you. You take a Tim Tam and bite opposite corners off, dunk it into a hot drink (usually tea or hot chocolate) and then using the Tim Tam like a straw, suck up the hot liquid until it reaches you mouth. Then you want to 'slam' the whole biscuit into your mouth before it disintegrates. You will then experience the euphoria of a warm, melted, Tim Tam falling apart in your mouth. Beautiful. If you couldn't quite visualise my description - here is the link to the WikiHow.
Egg substitute
I have tried this recipe with and without egg, and they both work well. You just need to replace the egg with a tablespoon of milk. It will give you a slightly crunchier biscuit, which you may even prefer.
I N G R E D I E N T S
For the biscuits
120 grams butter
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if flour mixture contains this already)
For the filling
1 cup icing sugar
60 grams of butter
1 tbsp of cocoa powder
For the coating
225 grams of milk chocolate
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
M E T H O D
Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
Add egg and beat again until combined.
Sift in cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and xanthan gum.
Fold in with wooden spoon until you can form into a ball.
Wrap the ball in cling film and place in fridge for 30 minutes.
When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 180° celsius bake and line a tray with baking paper.
Dust a flat surface with flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until about 0.5 cm thick. You may need to do this in two or three lots, depending on how much space you have.
You can either use a rectangle cookie cutter or use a ruler. I went with a ruler because it turns out rectangle cookie cutters are hard to find.
Cut the biscuits into 3cm x 6cm rectangles and gently place onto the lined baking tray.
Bake for 10 -12 minutes. Be careful not to overcook.
While the biscuits are cooking beat together the softened butter, icing sugar, and cocoa powder for the filling. The icing should be malleable with your hands so that you can roll small pieces into a ball.
Once the biscuits are cool, pair them together and ice with the chocolate filling. Make sure to try get the icing close to all the edges. This will be important for getting that classic Tim Tam shape.
Put the iced biscuits into the fridge.
Break the chocolate into a glass bowl over a pot of hot water, and add the coconut oil.
Gently stir until all the chocolate is almost melted. Carefully remove bowl from on top of the boiling water and place on a tea towel. Continue stiring until all chocolate has melted.
Prepare another tray with baking paper.
Remove the chilled biscuits from the fridge and one by one gently dip into the melted chocolate, covering evenly, then place onto the line tray to set.
Repeat until all biscuits are covered and then place into the fridge to set for 4 hours (or overnight). Enjoy!
