Making Hobnobs with Prue Leith’s Recipe

David Clark
Sep 15
3 min read

The British business McVitie’s launched Hobnobs in supermarkets in 1985, a biscuit-flapjack hybrid composed of rolled oats. They rapidly achieved bestseller status, and in 1987, a chocolate variant was launched, followed by numerous further variants, including chocolate orange and dark chocolate.

What is the rationale behind the name? Pam Langworthy, a contributor to the development and marketing of Hobnobs, provided insights on the Channel 4 program The Secret World of Biscuits. During the initial trials of the biscuits, testers were impressed by their irregular texture. “The focus groups described the biscuit as knobbly due to its lack of a smooth finish, unlike Digestive or Rich Tea biscuits,” Pam elucidated. “They remarked that it appeared as though it had been crafted at home, possibly on a stovetop.”

She resolved to incorporate this criticism in selecting the name: Hobnob. I desired a name that was effortlessly pronounceable and flowed smoothly. Thus, "Hobnob." The term 'hobnob' functions as a verb, signifying the act of socializing with someone of prominence or celebrity.

Ingredients:

For the biscuits

100g unsalted butter
35g caster sugar
40g light soft brown sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
50g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
100g jumbo oats
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt

For the caramel

100g caster sugar
100ml double cream
100g unsalted butter, cubed
For the chocolate coating
300g dark chocolate, 54%
100g white chocolate
200g caramel chocolate

Equipment

7cm round cutter
7cm round silicon moulds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
For the biscuits, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a beater, beat the butter, caster sugar and light soft brown sugar together until light and creamy. Add the golden syrup and mix together.
Tip the plain flour, wholemeal flour, jumbo porridge oats and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and whisk together with a balloon whisk until the bicarbonate of soda and salt are evenly distributed.
Add the flour and oat mixture to the butter and mix on low speed to form a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle measuring 35cm x 25cm. Using a 7cm cutter, stamp out 12 rounds. Place on a lined baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden, then remove from the oven and if the biscuits have spread, manipulate or cut them while they are still warm to 7cm rounds, to fit the silicone mould. Leave to crisp up on the baking trays for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
For the caramel, tip the caster sugar into a pan and heat over a low heat until the sugar begins to melt, shaking the pan from time to time (do not stir). Bring to the boil, then cook to a dark amber caramel colour. Meanwhile warm the cream in a small pan.
Carefully remove the pan from the heat and stir in the warm (not boiling) cream. Return the pan to the heat and boil to 120°C/248°F. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the butter until emulsified.
Spoon ½ tablespoon of the caramel into each of the silicon moulds and place a biscuit (base side down) on top of the caramel. Press down gently until the biscuit is touching the caramel then repeat with the remaining 11 biscuits. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then freeze until firm. Pop the caramel biscuit out of the moulds.
For the chocolate coating, melt the dark, white and caramel chocolate either in the microwave or in bowls set over pans of gently simmering water until smooth. Spoon the white chocolate into a piping bag and one third of the dark chocolate into a separate piping bag. Carefully snip the tips off the piping bags to a fine writing point.
Using the remaining dark chocolate, coat 6 of the biscuits in the chocolate, then pipe 5 lines of white chocolate across each biscuit evenly spaced apart. Using a cocktail stick, feather the white chocolate.
Use the caramel chocolate to coat the remaining 6 biscuits, then pipe 5 lines of dark chocolate across each biscuit, evenly spaced apart. Using a cocktail stick, feather the dark chocolate.
Leave to set, then serve.