This recipe was created for Foodstuffs for their 2019 calendar 

Foodstuffs

 

 

Rocky road is a great recipe to do with the kids and also makes a lovely homemade gift, especially around Easter time. The salted pretzels give such a good crunchy texture and a balance to the sweetness in this chocolatey treat. You can adapt the recipe to suit your tastes with almonds, walnuts or peanuts in place of the hazelnuts, and you can also choose the type of chocolate you like, milk, dark or a combination. For this recipe, I used 50% chocolate.

TIME | Preparation 15-20 minutes | Setting time 3-4 hours
MAKES |  15 squares or 30 small rectangle slices  - depending on the size you cut them

1 x 75g packet Pams hazelnuts
3 x 250g blocks of chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 tablespoons coconut oil or canola oil
1 ½ cups mini pretzel bows
15 pieces of natural red licorice, cut into small slices (I used RJ's) 
180g bag of marshmallows OR I used 18 large white only marshmallows found in ‘Alison's Pantry’

Garnish
½ cup pretzels, chopped

METHOD | Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Grease and line an 18cm x 27cm slice tin with baking paper and set aside.

To roast the hazelnuts, place on a tray with sides and roast for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. To remove the skins, place the hot nuts in a clean tea towel and roll them back and forth until the skins come off, they come off much easier when they are hot. The few hazelnuts which have more ‘stubborn skins’, you can rub these off with your fingers. Discard skins and set them aside.

To melt the chocolate, do this in a bain-marie so that the chocolate does not burn or split. To do this, place a pot with a little water in the bottom onto medium-high heat, and place a bowl over the top of the pot. Place the broken chocolate and the oil into the bowl and let the heat will gently melt it, stirring every now and then. (The coconut oil is used to give the chocolate a nice shine after melting). Once completely melted, remove and set aside.

In the prepared slice tin, add the hazelnuts pretzel bows (not chopped), chopped red licorice and marshmallows. Give it a good mix together and then evenly distribute around the tin. Pour over the melted chocolate and give the tin a good few bangs on the bench to remove any air pockets and to get the chocolate settled in and among the ingredients. Garnish with the extra chopped pretzels on top, and set aside until the chocolate is hard.

To cut, pull the rocky road slice from the tin and cut it into your desired portions. I find a ruler helps to get even amounts, and if you are having trouble slicing through, try using a knife that has been heated under hot water, then dried well before cutting. Store in an airtight container until ready to eat or gift.