Rich, chocolatey and packed with crunchy biscuits, soft marshmallows and whatever little extras you fancy throwing in. Rocky road is one of those recipes that doesn’t need much precision. Use whatever chocolate you’ve got, swap the biscuits around and don’t worry about making neat squares. The messy, chunky bits are often the best.
Preparation: 15 minutes
Chilling: 2–3 hours
Total time: Approximately 2½–3¼ hours
Makes: 12–16 squares
Ingredients
- 250g milk or dark chocolate (or a mixture)
- 100g butter
- 60g golden syrup (about 3 tbsp)
- 150g digestive or rich tea biscuits, roughly crushed
- 100g mini marshmallows
- 75g dried fruit, such as raisins, cranberries or glacé cherries
- 75g chopped nuts or seeds (optional)
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Melt the chocolate
Gently melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes so the marshmallows don’t melt when mixed in. - Prepare the fillings
Roughly crush the biscuits into a mixture of small crumbs and larger chunks. Add to a large bowl with the marshmallows, dried fruit and any nuts or seeds you’re using. - Mix everything together
Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients, add a pinch of salt and stir until everything is well coated. It should look wonderfully messy and chunky. - Press into the tin
Line a 20 × 20cm tin with baking parchment. Spoon in the mixture and gently press it into an even layer. There’s no need to squash it down too firmly. - Chill and slice
Refrigerate for 2–3 hours, until firm. Lift from the tin and cut into squares or bars. If it’s particularly hard, leave it at room temperature for 5–10 minutes before slicing.
Optional Additions
Rocky road is perfect for using up odds and ends from the cupboard. Try swapping some of the dried fruit or nuts for any of these:
| Addition | Suggested amount |
|---|---|
| Chopped Maltesers | 50–75g |
| White chocolate chips | 50g |
| Honeycomb pieces | 50g |
| Crushed pretzels | 50g |
| Salted peanuts | 50–75g |
| Pistachios | 50–75g |
| Mini Eggs or Smarties | 50–75g |
| Coconut flakes | 30–50g |
Notes
- Chocolate: Milk chocolate makes a sweeter rocky road, while dark chocolate gives a richer flavour. A mixture of both works particularly well.
- Biscuits: Digestives give a lovely buttery crunch, but rich tea, shortbread or leftover broken biscuits work just as well.
- Don’t overload it: Aim for roughly 150g of extra fillings in total, alongside the biscuits and marshmallows, so there’s enough chocolate to hold everything together.
- Storage: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tip: Don’t crush the biscuits too finely. Having a mixture of crumbs and bigger pieces gives rocky road its lovely uneven texture. And if a few chunks break off when you’re slicing it, consider those the cook’s reward.