DIME BAR CAKE

Another ripped off Ikea favourite (see also Swedish Meatballs &
Cream Sauce in ‘Comfort Food’), the Dime Bar cake recipe – or
Daim Bar as it’s apparently called in Sweden – is such a closely
guarded secret that all you have to do is look at the ingredients on
the back of the box to be able to work out more or less how it’s
made, although I think the home-made version is better.
My very good friend Carole, an ace almond biscuit maker, came
up with the idea of using soft cream cheese or Quark instead of
buttercream, which is not only lower in fat, it makes the finished
cake less sweet and sickly, but if you prefer to use buttercream,
blend about 1 oz (25 g) of butter and 3 oz (75 g) of icing sugar
with 1 tsp of vanilla essence and 1tbsp of water.
Result.
4 large egg whites
4 oz (100 g) soft brown sugar
1 large packet of ground almonds: approximately 8 oz (200 g)
4 tsp vanilla essence
1⁄2 tsp salt
Half an 8 oz (225 g) tub of Quark or soft cream cheese
3 Dime bars
Method
1. Base line two average-sized loose-bottomed cake tins with
greaseproof paper.
2. Whisk the egg whites with an electric hand whisk until the
meringue is stiff enough to stand up in peaks and stays put
when you turn the bowl upside down. (Takes about 2
minutes.)
3. Stir in the sugar, ground almonds and 2 tsp of vanilla essence
and 1⁄2 tsp salt then press half the mixture into each prepared
cake tin and bake in a very low oven, approximately Gas Mark
1 (140ºC) for 30–40 minutes until firm to the touch.
4. Soften the Quark or soft cream cheese in a bowl with another
2 tsp of vanilla essence and use half to sandwich the two cakes
together. Spread the other half over the top of the cake.
5. Use a rolling pin or similar to crush the Dime bars between a
large folded sheet of greaseproof paper and put the broken bars
in a Pyrex bowl over a saucepan of hot water until the chocolate
has melted completely.
6. Spread the melted Dime bar mixture over the top of the cake
and refrigerate.