Christmas Rocky Road Recipe

Red cranberries and green pistachios give a Christmassy look to this easy-to-make rocky road. It's great to have on hand during the festive season and makes a lovely homemade gift.

You can use milk, dark or white chocolate in this recipe. The mix-ins can be swapped to suit your taste. Alternative mix-ins could include dried apricots, glace cherries, Turkish delight, raspberry jelly lollies, peanuts, pecans, chunks of shortbread biscuits or chopped Cherry Ripe bars.

Preparation time: about 20 minutes (excludes setting time)

450g chocolate (milk, dark or white chocolate)
200g marshmallows, halved
50g unsalted roasted macadamia pieces
50g unsalted pistachios
70g sweetened dried cranberries
15g pistachios, chopped (for decoration)
15g sweetened dried cranberries, chopped (for decoration)

You will need a baking dish/pan or other food container with a base area of about 260 square centimetres to use as the mould for the rocky road. We used a rectangular glass dish that measures about 19cm long by 14cm wide and 5cm deep. Line the container with baking paper, extending the paper above the sides to make it easy to lift the rocky road out when set.

Melt the chocolate in a large bowl, either in the microwave or over a saucepan of hot water. Don’t overheat the chocolate – it should never be more than just warm to the touch. If your chocolate is too warm, set it aside to cool for a few minutes so it doesn’t melt the marshmallows.

Add the marshmallows, nuts and cranberries to the melted chocolate and fold together to coat the ingredients with chocolate.

Dollop the mixture into the lined container and use a spoon to distribute the mixture evenly. Sprinkle the extra chopped pistachios and cranberries over the chocolate. 

Refrigerate the rocky road until the chocolate has set (at least a few hours). To serve, remove the rocky road from the container, peel off the baking paper, and use a large sharp knife to cut into pieces. If the rocky road is difficult to cut, leave it at room temperature for a while so the chocolate can soften slightly. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. © www.exclusivelyfood.com.au

How to roast macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Adjust the oven rack to the middle shelf position (not necessary for a fan-forced oven). Place nuts in a single layer on a baking tray and place in the preheated oven. Check the nuts frequently during cooking as they can quickly over-brown. The smaller the nut pieces, the less time they will take to roast. Roast nuts for about 5–10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove nuts from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature (about 15 minutes).

How to melt chocolate

The chocolate can be melted in a microwave or in a bowl placed on top of a saucepan of hot water. Whichever way you melt the chocolate, ensure that you heat it gently. It should never be more than slightly warm to the touch. Don't allow any water to come in contact with the melting chocolate as this can cause the chocolate to lose its smooth texture.

Microwave: Break or chop the chocolate into pieces and place in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 20 seconds; then take the bowl out and give the chocolate a stir. Repeat the process of microwaving and stirring until only a few lumps remain unmelted. At that stage, just keep stirring until the chocolate is completely melted.

Saucepan and heatproof bowl: One-quarter fill a saucepan with water. Sit the bowl on top of the saucepan and check that the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water (use a different bowl if necessary). Remove the bowl and bring the saucepan of water to the simmer. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Ensure the inside of the bowl is dry. Chop or break the chocolate and place in the bowl. Sit the bowl on the saucepan. Using a spatula or metal spoon, stir the chocolate frequently until melted.