Cooking from the Heart with Siobhan Curran - Chocolate

Ooooh, chocolate! When I think edible gifts I immediately think of chocolate. [Actually most of my thoughts involve chocolate but that is beside the point...] Today Siobhan has a killer rocky road and a peppermint bark recipe and some delicious photos to back up how tasty these recipes really are! - Jenny x

Rocky Road

Possibly the ugliest treat ever made, but also quite possibly the most delicious tasting. We are BIG rocky road fans in this household and it’s so easy to make, break and share with friends and people who need softening up for favours etc. My friend Zoe passed this recipe on to me it works so well, everyone will be asking for the recipe.

I keep the rocky road in the tray, leaving your new best friend to their own devices in terms of using a knife to break up chunks to nibble on. It’s a bit of a lottery. Sometimes they break off small and sometimes they are big, but it’s broken off so it has to be eaten, right?

375g dark chocolate melts 375g milk chocolate melts 2 Fry’s Turkish Delight, cut into smallish cubes 100g glace red cherries 100g fine desiccated coconut 80g pistachios 120g dry roasted almonds 250g marshmallows cut in half

Melt the chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water or in the microwave (60 seconds on high, stir and another 60 seconds). Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and stir well to combine.

Spoon into a 20cm x 30cm baking tray and push down with a wooden spoon to fill all the gaps. Pop in the fridge to harden, about 30 minutes. Use a knife to prise apart chunks of the rocky road.

Peppermint Bark

I tried out an Australian version of this US Christmas classic by replacing the peppermint with eucalyptus. I know, crazy me, but oddly it works. Either way, this chocolate treat is too good to leave for just Christmas time.

I bought my peppermint (and eucalyptus) lollies from Sticky but there’s usually a heap of those Christmas candy canes stored away with the tinsel in the decoration box, so feel free to put them to good use. I had an old tin from hanging about from a retail purchase of Peppermint Bark but I saw a whole bunch of old caramel and tobacco tins at the second hand store the other day, which would have looked very cool.

180g dark chocolate pieces (around 58% cocoa solids) 2 tsp vegetable oil 180g white chocolate pieces 80g crushed peppermint lolly

Line the bottom and sides of a 20cm square baking tin with foil, smoothing our as many wrinkles as possible.

Melt the white chocolate and 1tsp of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Once fully melted pour into the prepared tin and give it a couple of sharp bangs on the bench to make sure it’s flat and even. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

Then melt the dark chocolate with 1tsp of vegetable oil in the same manner and pour if over the top of the layer of white chocolate. Sprinkle with the crushed lollies and place in the fridge for another 30 minutes.

Remove the peppermint bark from the tin by lifting out by the foil edges and peel the foil from the bottom of the chocolate. Using a knife run under hot water and dried, cut the chocolate into pieces or go rogue and break apart anyway you know how. Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

- Siobhan x