Maltese Food Sweets & Desserts

Maltese Christmas Log: No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Log Recipe

Name: Maltese Christmas Log (No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Log)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 395 min
Ingredients: For the log:; 250 g plain tea biscuits (such as Marie or Petit Beurre); 30 g cocoa powder; 1 orange (zest only); 300 g sweetened condensed milk; 3 tbsp brandy or whisky (or orange juice for alcohol-free); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 50 g walnuts; 50 g hazelnuts; 50 g almonds; 100 g glacé cherries (halved); For the coating:; 150 g dark chocolate (50–60% cocoa); 20 g butter; icing sugar (to dust, optional)

No oven, no stress: the chocolate log every Maltese fridge holds at Christmas.

Serves

Calories

372 kcal

Cuisine

Maltese

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Maltese Christmas log with chocolate bark coating and slices showing biscuits, nuts and glacé cherries

On this page: What is it · History · What you need · Step by step · Serving & storage · Recipe card

Around Christmas, open almost any fridge in Malta and you will find a foil-wrapped log waiting to be sliced. The Maltese Christmas log is a no-bake dessert made from crushed biscuits, sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, nuts and glacé cherries, bound with a splash of brandy or whisky and covered in chocolate.

It is closer to an Italian chocolate salami than to a sponge bûche de Noël, and that is exactly why people love it. There is no baking, no rolling sponge, nothing to go wrong. You mix, shape, chill and coat.

At Tone & Taste we like it with toasted nuts, plenty of orange zest and a dark chocolate coating that snaps when you slice it.

What Is It?

A Maltese Christmas log is a firm, sliceable roll made from finely crushed plain biscuits mixed with sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, chopped nuts and glacé cherries. Spirits like brandy, whisky or an orange liqueur add flavour and help bind it.

Once shaped and chilled, the log is coated in melted chocolate and marked with a fork to look like bark. Each slice shows a mosaic of biscuit, nuts and red cherries.

It sits somewhere between fudge and a dense chocolate cake: rich, chewy, and best in thin slices.

A Little History

The log reflects the way Maltese Christmas food mixes influences. The idea of a Yule log comes from the French bûche de Noël, the biscuit-and-chocolate method is close to the Italian salame di cioccolato, and condensed milk, plain biscuits and glacé cherries arrived as everyday pantry items during and after British rule.

It is also a thrifty dessert, built from cupboard staples rather than fresh dairy or an oven. That made it easy to make in quantity, and many families still prepare several logs at once to give away to neighbours and relatives.

Recipes vary from house to house. Some use only walnuts, some add almonds and hazelnuts, and the choice of spirit is very personal.

At a glance

Serves

Calories

372 kcal

Protein

6.8 g

Course

Dessert

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Why it works

01 No baking, ready to slice after chilling

02 Nuts and cherries in every slice

03 Better made two or three days ahead

Slices of Maltese chocolate biscuit log showing crushed biscuits, chopped nuts and red glacé cherries

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What You Need

Exact amounts are in the recipe card

Equipment tip: crush the biscuits in a sealed bag with a rolling pin, and mix everything in a large steel bowl so you have room to knead it by hand.

For the Log

Plain tea biscuits
Sweetened condensed milk
Cocoa powder
Walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds
Glacé cherries, orange zest, brandy

For the Coating

Dark chocolate
Butter
Icing sugar to dust (optional)

Step-by-Step Instructions

This recipe is about texture. The biscuits need to be crushed fine, with a few small pieces left, and the mixture should be firm enough to hold a shape without cracking.

Toasting the nuts takes five minutes and makes a real difference to the flavour. Let them cool before mixing so they do not soften the chocolate.

Give the log a proper chill before coating. A cold log sets the chocolate quickly and gives you a clean finish.

1. Toast and chop

Toast the nuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking often, until fragrant. Cool, then chop roughly. Halve or quarter the glacé cherries.

2. Crush the biscuits

Put the biscuits in a strong freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin until mostly fine crumbs with a few small pieces. Tip into a large bowl and stir in the cocoa and orange zest.

3. Mix and shape

Add the condensed milk, brandy and vanilla and mix, then work in the nuts and cherries with your hands until evenly combined and firm.

Turn onto a sheet of baking paper or cling film and roll into a log about 30 cm long and 6 cm across. Twist the ends tight and chill for at least 4 hours.

4. Coat in chocolate

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bowl over barely simmering water, or in short bursts in the microwave. Cool for 5 minutes.

Unwrap the cold log on a rack over a tray and spread the chocolate over the top and sides. Once it starts to set, drag a fork along it to make bark lines.

Tip: For gifts, make two smaller logs of 15 cm each, or roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls and dip them in chocolate.

5. Set and slice

Chill for another 2 hours until firm. Take it out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before serving, dust with icing sugar if you like, and slice thinly with a hot knife.

Serving & Storage

Serving

Serve thin slices of the log with coffee or a glass of port after Christmas lunch. It sits well on a platter next to qagħaq tal-għasel and mince pies, so everyone can take a little of each.

Because it is rich, one log easily serves 12 people.

Storing Leftovers

The log is a make-ahead dessert, and the flavour gets better after a day or two.

Whole or sliced log	fridge, wrapped, up to 1 week
Uncoated or coated log	freeze up to 2 months

Wrap the log tightly in baking paper and then foil so it does not pick up fridge smells.

To freeze, wrap well and thaw overnight in the fridge before slicing.

Maltese Christmas Log (No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Log)

A no-bake Maltese Christmas favourite: crushed tea biscuits, condensed milk, cocoa, toasted nuts, glacé cherries and brandy rolled into a log, chilled and coated in dark chocolate. Make it up to a week ahead.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Maltese

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 5

Chilling 6

Total Time 6 35

Servings slices

Calories 372

Equipment

Large mixing bowl
Freezer bag and rolling pin
Frying pan (for toasting nuts)
Heatproof bowl
Baking paper or cling film
Cooling rack
Sharp knife

Ingredients

For the log:
250 g plain tea biscuits such as Marie or Petit Beurre
30 g cocoa powder
1 orange zest only
300 g sweetened condensed milk
3 tbsp brandy or whisky or orange juice for alcohol-free
1 tsp vanilla extract
50 g walnuts
50 g hazelnuts
50 g almonds
100 g glacé cherries halved
For the coating:
150 g dark chocolate 50–60% cocoa
20 g butter
icing sugar to dust, optional

If the mixture feels too dry to hold together, add another tablespoon of condensed milk. If it is sticky, add a few more crushed biscuits.

For an alcohol-free version, use orange juice instead of brandy.

Keeps for a week in the fridge, or 2 months frozen.

Instructions

Toast the nuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 4–5 minutes until fragrant. Cool and chop roughly.
Crush the biscuits in a freezer bag with a rolling pin until mostly fine. Tip into a large bowl and stir in the cocoa and orange zest.
Add the condensed milk, brandy and vanilla, then work in the nuts and cherries by hand until evenly mixed and firm.
Shape into a 30 cm log on baking paper or cling film, roll up tightly, twist the ends and chill for at least 4 hours.
Melt the chocolate with the butter over barely simmering water. Cool for 5 minutes.
Unwrap the log on a rack, coat the top and sides with chocolate and mark with a fork to look like bark.
Chill for 2 hours more. Remove from the fridge 20–30 minutes before serving, dust with icing sugar and slice thinly with a hot knife.