Rocky road varieties

(makes 20-24)

This colourful classic is one that i have not grown up with, so when Paul's eyebrows raised (maybe his mouth drooled too) when i talked about a rocky road cake i saw, i thought i'd give this a go for Valentines Day! 

I tried to do some 'research', but it seems that really, anything goes! It's extraordinarily simple and is really just an eclectic mix of random candy bars, chocolate and marshmallows ~ surprisingly tasty and moreish! A few ongoing themes were cherries (either glacé cherries or cherry ripe), Turkish delight, fudge, nuts... but essentially your preferred mix of gooey, crunchy, soft, sweet, nutty, coconut-ty chocolatey goodness!

Prep time: 10min

Cooking time: 10 min (+ 2hrs refrigeration)

Ingredients:

600g dark chocolate

1x250g packet of Pascal marshmallows (pink and white)

1 C desiccated coconut, toasted

2 C random chopped lollies (popular options seem to include Willy Wonka Marvellous creations – Popping Candy, Cherry ripe, Turkish delight, Picnic, Raspberry jellies)

1/2 C random nuts (peanuts, pistachios)

3-5 Arnott’s scotch fingers

An extremely guilty trip to the late night trip to the shops...

Method:

1.     Line a 10x20cm tray with baking paper.

2.     Cut/break the candy into small bite-size 1cm pieces and break the scotch fingers into a similar size. Cut the marshmallows in half. Toss the marshmallows, lollies, nuts and scotch fingers into a large bowl.

3.     Double boil the chocolate until melted.

      NB. I think for better effects tempering the chocolate is better, but this involves a chocolate thermometer and a fair bit more time.

4.     Place the desiccated coconut and half the lolly mixture into a second bowl bowl and mix half the chocolate in until well covered. Place into the baking tray.

       You can try different varieties with the same base if you like, I made 2 versions;

       Base – chocolate, desiccated coconut, marshmallows

       Traditional peanut mix – raspberry jellies, peanuts, Picnic bars and shortbread biscuits

       Random candy mix – Willy Wonka creations, Cherry ripe, pistachios, Turkish delight

Getting your hands into the chocolate-y mess is part of the fun!

5.     Evenly sprinkle the remaining mixture on top then drizzle the remaining chocolate on top until well-covered.

6.     Refrigerate until hardened, at least 2 hours.

7.     Slice into bite-size pieces and serve. Keeps for at least a week (if it makes it!)

Random candy mix (left), classic peanut shortbread mix (right)

Makes for a cute little v-day present for my wonderful fiancé