The ridiculously simple ‘two-ingredient’ dessert that caused a nationwide supermarket shortage

Would you mix a packet of Kingston biscuits with a tin of peaches and bake it just to see what happens? Ex-MasterChef contestant Ash Davey did just that on Instagram and a new viral recipe – and nationwide supermarket shortages of the retro Arnott’s biscuit – ensued.

It might sound like an unexpected combination, but the social-sphere is collectively losing it over videos of home cooks not only making and sharing the dish, but suggesting variations too.

The “recipe” isn’t just two ingredients either, it’s also just two steps .

On the recipe front, the reason it works is simple. The hard work of the biscuit making has been done for you – which creates the “pudding” base – and the fruit has already been prepped and likely sweetened. So, when you pour a sweet, juicy liquid over the top of the biscuits, it soaks right in, creating a pudding texture as it bakes and the juice is absorbed. The tinned fruit gets warmed through, the sugars caramelise, and the result is a moist, fruity and decadent dessert.

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If you use cream-filled biscuits – like Kingston or vanilla cream – those fillings melt and caramelise even more, adding another layer of fudgy texture and richness. But the same trick can be achieved with plain biscuits too.

We won’t pretend it’s not super sweet (because it is) but it’s also delicious. Perfect served as a hot dessert with a dollop of cream, or as a chilled slice once it’s firmed up.

With millions of views and plenty of iterations, it would be easy to say it’s the simplicity of the hack that’s got us hooked. We might be out of time, money and inspiration, but we still want a sweet treat that’ll hit the spot with very little fuss. Two-ingredient desserts are that magic answer. But not all of them hit the way this one has, so why?

“It’s a really novel application of very accessible ingredients, so it definitely does have a novelty element to it,” says Sophie McComas-Williams, co-founder of Buffet creative agency.

“They’re just the most unexpected ingredients you’d probably think to combine, so there’s that ‘surprise and delight’ of supermarket ingredients that actually create something a little bit – I wouldn’t go so far as to say fancy-looking – but something tasty and fun.”

McComas-Williams also attributes it to perfect timing, for a winter-warming dessert that is achievable on a budget.

She also notes a loop effect, with the intriguing question of “what’s going to happen” with these two unusual ingredients. “You wait to watch to the end of the video to see that loop close, and come to a clear close,” she says of the quick reveal.

There’s also something to be said for the nostalgia of the ingredients in the recipe; with tinned fruit and iconic sweet biscuits both being fond childhood memories for many of us.

“Social media has a way of breathing new life into classic recipes,” says Kate Bean, Arnott’s category and marketing director of ANZ snacking, when asked about the viral trend.