Name: Dark-chocolate liquorice rocky road
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 500 gm dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids) coarsely chopped; 200 gm vanilla marshmallows, roughly chopped; 150 gm almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped; 20 gm freeze-dried raspberries, plus extra for scattering (see note); Liquorice; 120 gm butter, diced, plus extra for greasing; 220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar; 185 gm (½ cup) dark corn syrup (see note); 180 gm (½ cup) sweetened condensed milk; 90 gm (¼ cup) blackstrap molasses; 2 tbsp anise extract (see note); 2 tsp black food colouring; 120 gm (¾ cup) plain flour

Dark-chocolate liquorice rocky road

A sophisticated take on the classic chocolate creation.

Serves 6

Prep

Cook

15M

Total

20M

For this rocky road recipe, we’ve made our own liquorice from scratch but around 250 gm of good shop-bought will do nicely. We’ve also added roasted almonds and freeze-dried raspberries, but feel free to improvise with other rocky-road-friendly ingredients.

Ingredients

500 gm dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids) coarsely chopped

200 gm vanilla marshmallows, roughly chopped

150 gm almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped

20 gm freeze-dried raspberries, plus extra for scattering (see note)

Liquorice

120 gm butter, diced, plus extra for greasing

220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar

185 gm (½ cup) dark corn syrup (see note)

180 gm (½ cup) sweetened condensed milk

90 gm (¼ cup) blackstrap molasses

2 tbsp anise extract (see note)

2 tsp black food colouring

120 gm (¾ cup) plain flour

Method

1.To make liquorice, line a 20cm square cake tin with lightly buttered baking paper. Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup, condensed milk, molasses, anise, food colouring and a pinch of fine salt in a saucepan over low-medium heat, then bring to the boil and cook until the mixture reaches 120C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat, add flour and stir to incorporate. Pour into cake tin and refrigerate until chilled and firm (about 2 hours). Invert onto a board and cut into lengths about 2cm wide then cut into roughly 2cm-square pieces. Transfer to a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate to chill (about 1½-2 hours).

2.Grease and line a 25cm x 16cm cake tin with baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang (for easy removal). Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally with a metal spoon, until smooth (2-3 minutes).

3.Combine marshmallows, almonds, raspberries and liquorice in a bowl, pour chocolate over and stir to coat well. Spread mixture evenly over baking tin, scatter with freeze-dried raspberries and set aside until firm (about 2 hours). Turn out onto a clean surface and, using a hot knife, cut into chunks. Store rocky road in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 2 weeks.

Note Freeze-dried raspberries are available from select grocers and delicatessens or at fresh-as.com. Anise extract and dark corn syrup are available from select delicatessens and The Essential Ingredient.
Notes