Rocky Road Tarts Food

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.

ROCKY ROAD TART

Steps:

• Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process graham crackers, sugar, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl, and stir in melted butter. Mix until combined.
• Pour mixture into a 9-inch cake ring or springform pan set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press crumbs with your hand or the bottom of a glass to form an even layer on bottom and up sides of pan. Bake until crust just starts to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack.
• Make ganache: Melt 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; keep warm. Meanwhile, bring cream just to a simmer in a medium saucepan over high heat; remove from heat. Whisk 1/4 cup hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture into the remaining cream in saucepan. Whisk cream mixture into the melted chocolate, and set the ganache aside.
• Coarsely chop remaining 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, and transfer to a large bowl. Toss in 2 cups mini marshmallows and 1 cup whole toasted almonds. Scatter mixture all over bottom of cooled crust. Reserve 1 cup ganache for topping, and pour the rest evenly on top of the filling (do not overfill the crust). Refrigerate tart, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, cover reserved ganache with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature.
• Make topping: Toss together 3/4 cup mini marshmallows, 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds, and 2 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate; sprinkle over filling. Drizzle reserved 1 cup ganache over tart, and refrigerate 10 minutes more before cutting into slices.

ROCKY ROAD BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter the paper. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, place butter and cocoa; heat over low, stirring constantly, until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, egg, flour, milk, and vanilla until combined.
• Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven; sprinkle top evenly with marshmallows, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Return to oven, and bake until marshmallows puff, about 3 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Then refrigerate until topping hardens, about 1 hour. Use paper overhang to lift from pan; cut into 12 bars.

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.