Rocky Road Chocolate Cupcakes Food

ROCKY ROAD CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350*.
• Prepare cake mix as box directs.
• Add remaining ingredients to batter.
• Blend well.
• Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
• Bake for 22 minutes or until pick comes out clean.
• Cool in pan.

ROCKY ROAD CUPCAKES (FROM SCRATCH)

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the vegetable oil and water over low heat.
• In a large bowl, sift the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add the melted butter mixture and beat with a handheld mixer at low speed until smooth. Add the egg and beat until incorporated, then add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping the bottom and side of the bowl. Pour the batter into the lined muffin tins, filling them about three-fourths full.
• Bake the cupcakes in the center of the oven for about 25 minutes, until springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the butter, corn syrup and salt until hot but not boiling. Immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Let the frosting cool, whisking occasionally, until thick enough for dipping and glazing the cupcakes, about 30 minutes. For a frosting firm enough to spread, let stand for 1 hour.
• Mix the frosting with the peanuts, chocolate chips and marshmallows. Frost the cooled cupcakes and serve.

CHOCOLATE ROCKY ROAD CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter the base of a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment. Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat, then remove from the heat and leave to cool for 3 mins. Whisk the melted butter, oil, yogurt, milk, coffee and eggs together in a large bowl until combined. Whisk the sugar, flour, baking powder and cocoa together in a separate large bowl, breaking up any lumps of sugar with the whisk. Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth, then pour into the tin. Bake for 55 mins-1 hr until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean with no wet crumbs. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
• For the rocky road, tip the biscuits into a food bag and bash with a rolling pin until roughly broken up. Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup together in a large pan over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
• Tip the crushed biscuits, mini marshmallows and any extras into the pan and stir until everything is completely coated in the chocolate mixture. Spoon the rocky road over the cooled cake and smooth with a spatula so the top is completely covered. Sprinkle over some extra biscuit pieces, marshmallows and any other bits you'd like to add. Leave to set at room temperature for at least 2 hrs, or chill for 1 hr to help it set more quickly. Remove the cake from the tin, slice and serve. Will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to two days.

EASY ROCKY ROAD

Steps:

• Grease and line an 18cm square brownie tin with baking paper.
• Place 200g digestive biscuits in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin or just the side of your fist until they're broken into a mixture of everything between dust and 50p-sized lumps. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan melt 135g butter or margarine, 200g dark chocolate and 2-3 tbsp golden syrup over a gentle heat stirring constantly until there are no or almost no more lumps of chocolate visible, then remove from the heat. Leave to cool.
• Take the biscuits, 100g mini marshmallows and up to 100g of additional ingredients (dried fruit, nuts, popcorn, honeycomb), if you like, and stir into the chocolate mixture until everything is completely covered.
• Tip the mixture into the lined baking tin, and spread it out to the corners. Chill for at least 2 hrs then dust with icing sugar and cut into 12 fingers.