Friday, January 19, 2007

Sugar High Friday #27 - Rocky Road

When I saw that David was hosting the Sugar High Friday this month, I knew I had to participate.

Not having done one of these before and quite obviously not a very good cook, I was sucked in by the theme "Chocolate by Brand". Because I am due to move, I have been trying to clear the cupboards of as much food as possible and whilst rummaging, I stumbled upon 5 bars of Cailler 74% Cacao Extreme left over from a chocolate fountain party (yes, I have a chocolate fountain!).

The recipe had to be an easy one that I couldn't mess up, that's when I thought of rocky road. I adore rocky road and often buy it from the See's Candy shop, each time kicking myself for spending so much on something so simple.

With the fragrant warmth of the roasted almonds, the slight tanginess from the dried blueberries, additional sweetness of the mini marshmallows, these dark chocolate treats were addictive and popular with my family (who begged me to stop attempting to bake cakes and only make these from now on).

Rocky Road

- 500g Chocolate (or 5 bars of Cailler in my case)
- 150g Mini Marshmallows
- 150g Almonds (or other nuts)
- 200g Dried Blueberries (or Cranberries, Raspberries or even, ick, raisins)


1 - Roast the almonds either in the oven, watching carefully and turning frequently until browned and fragrant. Cool.

2 - Toss together the marshmallows, dried blueberries and almonds and set aside.

3 - Melt approximately 350g of the chocolate on top of a double boiler (or in my case, a stainless steel bowl set on top of gently simmering water) until fully melted, then remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate until all melted. This will have the effect of slightly tempering the chocolate and also cooling it enough to not melt the marshmallows.

4 - Pour chocolate over the marshmallow, blueberry and almond and mix with spatula until well coated and either spoon into candy holders or into a wax paper lined baking pan.

5 - Put chocolates into the fridge to cool for an hour, then remove to room temperature.

Keeps well in a tin for up to 2 weeks.

Honestly, these are so easy and versatile but yet so delicious, I'd encourage you to make them anytime you have extra chocolate lying around (as if that ever happens).

Now what to do with the other half dozen bars of assorted brands of chocolate?

8 comments:

David said...

Super chocolate entry and glad you found a way to use all that chocolate!

lotus_gal said...

oooh those look lovely!

Unknown said...

Those look really delicious - I'll have to give this a go -- but with dried cherries!

Anonymous said...

I just had to come and look at these lovely morsels being that rocky road anything is one of my favorite chocolate creations. Looks fantastic, I'm sure they taste fantastic too!

Rachel Rubin said...

so how did the chocolate fountain turn out? we had one at work before and it wouldn't flow.

i cook but i don't make desserts very often so the SHF challenge was a bit awkward for me. i'd be afraid to try and make candy! yours turned out great though.

Sui Mai said...

Thank you David and Deborah, that's very kind!

Jessica, Mark and David, cherries sound great...maybe even with walnut halves and white chocolate! Mmmmn..

Veron, definitely try, they are so easy and taste so good!

Rachel, the chocolate fountain turned out great! You have to dilute it quite a bit, one time we tried diluting it with cream and it worked great but does dry out over time. Rocky Road is so easy, you musn't be afraid to try!

Anonymous said...

What a delicious way to use up all that chocolate!

L Vanel said...

Oh la la, that candy is absolutely a wonderful idea. Thanks!