Lolly cake

Name: Lolly cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 140 min
Yield: 12 slices
Cuisine: New Zealand
Ingredients: 250 g Malt biscuits, crushed to fine crumbs with a few small chunks; 120 g Butter; 200 g Sweetened condensed milk, half a standard tin; 180 g Fruit puffs or Miniature marshmallows, each cut into 3 or 4 pieces; 60 g Desiccated coconut, for rolling

A no-bake log of crushed malt biscuits, butter and condensed milk studded with chewy fruit puffs and rolled in coconut.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 5 min
Rest: 2 hr
Total: 2 hr 20 min
Difficulty: Very easy
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Lolly cake is a no-bake New Zealand slice that does not pretend to be sophisticated. Malt biscuits are smashed to crumbs and bound with melted butter and sweetened condensed milk. Chopped fruit puffs, the pastel marshmallow-like lollies sold as Eskimos or fruit puffs, are mixed through. The lot is rolled into a log, coated in desiccated coconut, chilled and sliced into rounds that show pink, yellow and green chunks in a pale brown body. It takes fifteen minutes to make and most of the work is hitting biscuits with a rolling pin. Children make it; adults still eat it.

What you'll need

5 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 5 ready

12 servings

Ingredients

Servings

Malt biscuits, crushed to fine crumbs with a few small chunks250 g
Butter120 g
Sweetened condensed milk, half a standard tin200 g
Choose one
Fruit puffs, each cut into 3 or 4 pieces180 g
Desiccated coconut, for rolling60 g

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Put the biscuits in a strong bag and crush with a rolling pin. You want mostly fine crumbs with a few pea-sized bits for texture.
5 min
Step 2
Melt the butter with the condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring, until smooth and just warm. Do not let it boil.
4 min
Step 3
Pour over the crumbs and mix well. Let it cool for a few minutes so the lollies do not melt, then fold the chopped fruit puffs through.
5 min
Step 4
Spread the coconut on a sheet of baking paper. Tip the mixture onto it and shape into a log about 6 cm across, rolling to coat the outside completely in coconut.
5 min
Tip: Wet hands help. So does rolling the paper around the log and squeezing.
Step 5
Wrap tightly in the paper and chill at least 2 hours until firm. Slice into rounds 1.5 cm thick. Keep in the fridge.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 303 kcal
Protein: 3.5 g
Carbs: 37.7 g
Fat: 15.8 g
Saturated fat: 10.4 g
Fibre: 1.2 g
Sugar: 22.9 g
Sodium: 112 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat
Milk

Vegetarian

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.

Substitutions

Malt biscuits → Digestive biscuits or plain malted milk biscuits
Slightly less sweet and a bit more crumbly. Add 20 g more condensed milk if the mix will not hold.

Tips

A food processor makes crumbs faster but easily turns them to flour. Pulse, do not blitz.
Some people press the mix into a lined tin instead of rolling a log. Same slice, square shape.
It freezes well. Slice first, then freeze.

History & culture

Lolly cake lives in school lunchboxes, dairies, petrol stations and cafe cabinets across New Zealand, usually sold by the slice in cling film. It appears at kids' birthdays and office morning teas. It is one of a handful of foods, along with pavlova and hokey pokey, that New Zealanders abroad miss and attempt with the wrong biscuits.

No-bake biscuit logs bound with condensed milk became common in the 1940s and 1950s when ovens were small and condensed milk was cheap. Malt biscuits are a Griffin's product from the early 20th century and fruit puffs are a Pascall sweet; the combination is a mid-century New Zealand invention with no single author.

Traditional — Outside New Zealand you will be substituting the biscuits and the lollies. Digestives or any plain malted biscuit and soft marshmallows get you close.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Lolly cake take?

2 hr 20 min all in — 15 min prep, 5 min cook, 2 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 12 slices. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Very easy.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.

6 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Mixing bowl, Rolling pin, Saucepan.

How much salt do I put in?

This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.

What can I use instead?

Malt biscuits → Digestive biscuits or plain malted milk biscuits. Slightly less sweet and a bit more crumbly. Add 20 g more condensed milk if the mix will not hold.

Any tips from this recipe?

A food processor makes crumbs faster but easily turns them to flour. Pulse, do not blitz. Some people press the mix into a lined tin instead of rolling a log. Same slice, square shape. It freezes well. Slice first, then freeze.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.