Christmas Rocky Road

I always love making sweets like these, because they’re so easy and quick, and when I haven’t much time or energy I get a real feeling of accomplishment without much effort.

It’s always struck me though, that the original Rocky Road recipe combines some very disparate ingredients (marshmallows, nuts, biscuits, coconut, etc). It’s the sort of confectionery recipe that has everything plus the kitchen sink in it with no regard for whether the finished flavours and textures compliment one another. So here’s a version with slightly more sophisticated flavours, which is ideal for the Christmas season. And best of all, it tastes fantastic. It’s soft and gooey, with all those rich and spicy flavours that you expect from Christmas cake, but it’s also surprisingly light on the stomach.

This is a fairly flexible recipe, in that it is possible to vary the quantities or ingredients slightly, without ruining the end product, if, say, you want to use up the remainder of your Christmas cake ingredients. The most important thing is to remember to keep the ratio of chocolate to the other solid ingredients about the same so there is enough chocolate to bind it all together.

Ingredients:

200g milk chocolate
¼ tsp each cinnamon & mixed spice
few drops of lemon essence
few drops of orange essence
85g mixed peel
100g glace cherries
125g marzipan
100g raisins
Brandy

Method:

Soak the raisins in enough brandy to just cover them for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight if you have time), then drain and discard the brandy (or use in another recipe if you wish) and pat the raisins dry with kitchen paper.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment and set on one side. Cut the marzipan into small pieces (a little smaller than a whole glace cherry). Add the spices to the milk chocolate, and melt in the usual manner (in a pyrex bowl placed over just simmering water is usually best– see our article on “Cooking with Chocolate” for more details). Then quickly mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Place heaped dessert spoons of the mixture onto the baking parchment, and place in the refrigerator until set, when the sweets can be removed from the baking parchment and placed in an airtight tin. They can be stored in a cool dry place for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 20 pieces.

Fat: about 4g per piece
Calories: about 120 calories per piece