Rocky Road Brownies

 

Rocky Road Brownies.  Prepare yourself to fall in love with this wonderfully deliciously British version of a North American treat.  

Brownies, who does not love a good brownie?  Classed as a favourite amongst oldsters and youngsters throughout the world, there is something about fudgy, moist, chocolate filled brownies that speaks to the glutton in most of us.

 

This delicious recipe I am sharing with you today was adapted from a small baking book which I picked up in Marks and Spencers a number of years back. You can't beat M&S cookbooks.  I have had a number of them through the years and all of them have been filled with deliciousness.

This one is par excellence!  Filled to overflowing with fabulous brownie recipes designed to tempt every taste and desire! Not all brownies are chocolate.

 

Rocky Road is a completely different thing in the UK than what it is in North America.  In the UK, Rocky Road is also known as Tiffin Cake, and is said to be Prince Williams favourite cake. I am not sure if that is true or not, but I can tell you that Tiffin Cake is quite delicious!

Rocky Road or Tiffin is an unbaked chocolate slice typically composed of melted chocolate, crisp broken biscuits/cookies, marshmallows and some type of dried fruit.  But not always.  It can vary quite a bit from country to country and region to region. In short it is a chocolate fridge cake, similar to a fudge or candy, but uncooked with the exception of melting the chocolate.

 

 A brownie is a type of square or cake that is mostly but not entirely limited to chocolate. Dense and fudgy you can find it in many versions now, one of which is the blondie.  

 

A good brownie is something you should be able to pick up in your hands to eat and is totally enjoyable. Moist, rich and fudgy . . .  totally appealing, especially to those who love chocolate.

 

Rocky Road Brownies are a glorious amalgamation of the two things.  I like to think it is composed of the best of both worlds.

You get a dense fudgy brownie, filled with sticky sweet cherries and toasted nuts.  Top that with a rich chocolate glaze and sweet mini marshmallows and you have a heavenly bar that everyone who loves brownies is sure to fall in love with!

 

I have used glace cherries in these.  Glace cherries are also known as candied cherries and can be found in the dried fruits/baking aisle of the supermarket. You can also find them online in speciality shops and on amazon.

They are sweet and delicious, and come in a wide variety of colours. I prefer to use the undyed ones which are a bit darker red in colour.

 

I always rinse them off in warm water before using them in baking.  I just pop them into a bowl of warm water and give them a good swish around.  I then drain them and pat them dry with some paper kitchen towels.

This helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the bake.  You really want them evenly distributed throughout the bake.

 

You can also toss them with a bit of the dried ingredients to hedge your bets even further. Not a lot, just a TBS will do. Note, if you cannot get candied cherries, feel free to use well drained and dried maraschino cherries.

I also always toast my nuts before baking with them. Both Pecans and walnuts.  Toasting your nuts just makes them taste nuttier and is not all that difficult to do.

 

Just preheat your oven to 350*F/180*C.  Pop the nuts onto a baking tray and then toast them in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes at which time they should be smelling all toasty and nutty.

Do check on them to make sure they don't burn. Nuts are expensive baking ingredients and you don't want to waste them.  Once they are toasted let them cool completely before using them in any baking recipe.

I often toast my nuts well in advance, doing a whole bag at a time. I then pop them into an airtight freezer container and into the deep freeze where they are ready to use at a  moments notice. You don't need to thaw them out.

Toasted nuts also make great snacks.  Just saying.

 

I have used walnuts today, but feel free to use pecans if you would rather. They work really well as do macadamia nuts. (My favourite nut. Especially with chocolate.) 

I suppose if you really wanted to be decadent you could even add a few chocolate chips.  I like them just as they are however with just the nuts and the cherries.

 

A beautiful chocolate glaze goes on top of these. Not thick enough or fluffy enough to be called a frosting, this is a thick glaze that is very simple to make. Its more like a  thin icing.

It gets spread over the top of the cooled bake and then mini marshmallows are pressed into the top before it sets so that they will adhere better to the frosting. Simple.

 

Once everything sets up they are ready to be cut into delicious bars.  I have a confession. I cannot cut or even draw a straight line. 

I always bake my bars and cakes that I plan on cutting into squares in pans which I have lined with baking parchment. I make sure I have an overhang of paper so that I can lift them out easily once done. Much easier to cut that way.  At least for me.

 

Now doesn't that look delicious.  Like something you can't wait to sink your teeth into?  I promise you they are totally delicious. 

Amazingly delicious, a tiny bit dangerous, these are the type of brownie that everyone need to experience at least once in their lifetime! These brownies are rich, chocolatey and moist, holding well together. Everything a good brownie should be!

 

Rocky Road Brownies. British style, with plenty of chocolate oomph , candied cherries, toasted nuts, a lush choccie glaze and mini marshmallow topping! 

Be warned.  These are highly addictive.  I am quite sure you won't be able to stop at eating just one. These are just good, good, good!

Rocky Road Brownies

Yield: 16

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 15 Mincook time: 40 Mintotal time: 55 Min

Quite simply delicious. Not the North American version of Rocky Road, but the British with glace cherries, walnuts and marshmallows.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (225g) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (100g)plain flour
• 3/4 cup (140g) granulated sugar
• 3 TBS cocoa powder, sifted (not drinking mix)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 large free range eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup (70g) glace cherries, quartered
• 2/3 cup (70g) toasted walnuts

For the frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups (200g) icing sugar
• 2 TBS cocoa powder, sifted
• 3 TBS evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup (60g) mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a 9 inch square baking tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre. Add the wet ingredients all at once. Beat well to mix together smoothly. Stir in the cherries and walnuts. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until just firm on top. Leave to cool in the tin.
3. To make the frosting, place all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric whisk to give you a speadable consistency. Spread over the cooled brownies. (It won't be really thick, but it shouldn't be runny either.) Sprinkle the marshmallows on top, pressing down slightly. Leave to set before cutting into squares to serve.
4. Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container.

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