This is a gluten-free take on an Australian classic, consisting of two chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with a chocolate buttercream and finished with a coating of chocolate.
These biscuits do require some time to prepare, from chilling the dough, making the buttercream and assembling and decorating. As usual, there are some recipe notes for each of the components.
Notes for the Biscuits:
- This gluten-free chocolate biscuit recipe involves quite a few different starches and flours. I hope to develop a simpler recipe in the future, but unfortunately this is the only blend that I found works.
- Once the dry ingredients are added, the dough will initially appear quite dry, but continue mixing and the resulting dough will be very soft.
- When rolling the dough, don’t be afraid to dust the surface generously with rice flour if it feels too soft and sticky. You can roll the dough to any thickness you prefer – the thinner it is, the crunchier the biscuit will be. I prefer to roll it on the thinner side for these Tim Tams.
- I find that most gluten-free cookies and biscuits cook very quickly, so just keep an eye on them whilst they’re baking.
- When you take them out of the oven, the biscuits will feel quite soft if you touch the surface gently. This is perfectly fine as the residual heat from the tray will harden the biscuits.
Notes for the Buttercream:
- The butter should be at room temperature, just softened but not melted. It is important to beat the butter on high speed for at least five minutes until it becomes pale yellow, almost white. This will incorporate air and yield a light and fluffy buttercream.
- The icing sugar is added in batches and mixed well in between each addition. This will further ensure that light texture.
- When assembling the biscuits, I like to transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle and pipe the frosting onto the biscuits. Alternatively, you can simply spread the frosting onto the biscuit.
Notes for the Chocolate Coating:
- I like to use a mixture of milk and dark chocolate to coat the Tim Tams. You can either use all milk if you prefer it sweeter, or all dark for a richer taste.
- To make it easier to coat the biscuits, a small amount of neutral oil is added to the chocolate which thins it out.
- I’ve posted a short reel on Instagram if you want to see how the TIm Tams were coated.
- Since the chocolate is not tempered, these Tim Tams need to be stored in the refrigerator.
So I hope you enjoy the recipe, and please let me know if you have any questions!
Gluten-free Tim Tams
Chocolate Biscuits
- 125g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 125g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 85g white rice flour, plus extra for dusting
- 80g brown rice flour
- 70g potato starch
- 30g tapioca starch
- 15g almond meal
- 15g cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed until light and pale in colour, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla bean paste, and beat on medium speed until well combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, almond meal, cocoa powder, xanthan gum and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix on low speed just until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions, and place each onto a piece of cling film. With the help of the cling film, shape both portions of the dough into a rough square, then wrap tightly in the cling film. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If not using the dough immediately, it can keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Dust a piece of large piece of parchment paper generously with white rice flour. Place one portion of the dough (the other can be kept refrigerated) onto the floured parchment paper, and sprinkle more rice flour on top of the dough. Roll the dough until it is around 3-4mm thick, and slice the dough into 2.5cm x 5cm rectangles. Using an offset spatula, transfer the rectangles onto the prepared baking trays leaving 1cm gap in between each.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool completely on the tray.
- Repeat with the remaining portion of dough.
Chocolate Buttercream
- 125g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200g icing sugar
- 20g cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until light and pale in colour, about 5 minutes.
- Add the icing sugar and cocoa powder in gradually in 3 batches, mixing well in between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of milk, and beat on high speed for a further 2 minutes until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, simply adjust by adding a tablespoon or two of milk.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle.
Assembly & Chocolate Coating
- 170g milk chocolate
- 30g dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (canola or vegetable).
- To assemble, pipe the buttercream onto half of the biscuits. Top with the remaining biscuits to form a sandwich. Gently press the biscuits together, and use an offset spatula to smooth off the edges. Place the biscuits in the refrigerator to set whilst you prepare the chocolate coating.
- In a heat-proof bowl, melt together the milk and dark chocolate with the oil. You can do this by setting the bowl over a pot of simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water, or in the microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between.
- Dip the chilled biscuits into the melted chocolate and carefully coat until covered. If the chocolate coating seems too thick, gently wipe off any excess with an offset spatula. Place the coated biscuits on a piece of parchment paper, then refrigerate until set.
- Finally, serve and enjoy, or store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 5 days.