Rocky Road

A rich chocolatey treat that’s ideal to make in advance for a crowd. A chocolate lover’s dream that will surely delight anyone, and really no one will believe this is dairy free!

Rocky Road is one of my favourite recipes to whip out whenever we have a big group of people over. Whoever they are, whatever their age, whatever their tastes – no one says no to a piece of Rocky Road! With chunks of biscuit, marshmallow, nuts and cranberries enveloped in a chocolate blanket you can quickly produce something with universal appeal in advance – which is a winner in my book when a large number of people descend on your house!

I also think Rocky Road is the ultimate chocolate treat, duly satisfying the biggest of chocolate cravings. It is rich and dense, packed with tasty sweet treats making it very moreish. The pieces might look small but trust me when I say they pack a serious chocolate punch! The perilous thing is that it is so easy to make, and worse yet, you probably have most of these ingredients in your cupboard at any one time… you have been warned!

For this Rocky Road I used Hobnobs as the biscuit for crunch (For those of you not in the UK and perhaps not familiar with Hobnobs, they are an oaty biscuit – a bit like a flapjack in cookie form. The most important thing, of course, is that they don’t contain any milk, which can be a hard thing to find in a good biscuit) and added hazelnuts to compliment the chocolate and give additional texture. I’ve used dried cranberries – but any dried fruit with a sweet/sour edge would be perfect, such as dried sour cherries. The fruit is a sweet relief that cuts through the thick, luscious chocolate.

So, next time you need to bake for a crowd or just want to make yourself a chocolatey treat, give this Rocky Road a try!

Makes 16 pieces. Takes 20 minutes plus chilling time.

Ingredients:

• 6 hobnobs (about 90g)
• 45g whole hazelnuts
• 300g dark chocolate
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 100g dairy free butter
• 40g mini marshmallows (to make this recipe Vegan, make sure to buy marshmallows without animal gelatine)
• 90g dried cranberries
• Optional: Icing sugar to dust

1. Line the bottom and sides of a 18 x 18cm dish with foil.
2. In a large heatproof bowl, break the chocolate into small pieces and add the butter and golden syrup. Set above a small pot of hot water (make sure the water does NOT touch the bowl) and melt the chocolate mix. You could also do this in the microwave, carefully, 30 seconds at a time until just melted.
3. Whilst the chocolate is melting, break up the hobnobs into bite size chunks (I prefer to do this by hand vs with a rolling pin, as I prefer less crumbs and more chunks in my rocky road).
4. 
5. Bash the hazelnuts into small chunks.
6. 
7. When the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove 1 3rd of the chocolate and set aside. Tip the hobnobs, hazelnuts, marshmallows and cranberries into the remaining 2/3rds of chocolate and mix until evenly incorporated.
8. Tip the rocky road mix into the prepared dish and push it to get it into the corners and as level as possible on top.
9. Pour the reserved 1/3rd of the chocolate on top of the rocky road to ensure that none of the ingredients can be seen.
10. 
11. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 3 days ahead.
12. Cut into 16 pieces using a sharp knife and dust with icing sugar if wished (tip: Run the knife under hot water first, dry it off, and then slice for a clean and easy cut).
13. 
14. Store in an airtight container for up to a week… presuming it will last that long!