Rocky Road Bars
No-bake chocolate slab with marshmallows, biscuits and cherries.
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Before You Start
Rocky road is a fridge cake: melted chocolate binding whatever chaos you fold into it, set into a slab and cut with a hot knife. This version is the British classic of digestives, marshmallows and glacé cherries, with golden syrup keeping the chocolate soft enough to bite. The only skill involved is not eating the mixture.
Instructions
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1
Line a 20 cm square tin with paper. Bash the digestives in a bag into a mix of rubble and dust: big shards for structure, dust to thicken the chocolate.
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2
Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together gently, stirring until smooth. Let it cool 10 minutes. This cooling is what stops the marshmallows melting on contact.
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3
Stir in the biscuit rubble, then the marshmallows, cherries and most of the nuts, folding until everything wears chocolate.
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4
Scrape into the tin and press down firmly with the back of a spoon, getting into the corners.
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5
Scatter the rest of the nuts over and press them in lightly. Chill at least 2 hours until completely firm.
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6
Lift out, dust with powdered sugar, and cut into 16 with a large knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry.
💡 Baker's tips
- Cool the chocolate before the marshmallows go in, or they dissolve into invisible sweetness instead of staying as white boulders.
- Press the mix into the tin harder than feels polite. Loose rocky road crumbles at the first cut.
🔀 Make it your own
- Swap digestives for shortbread, cherries for dried cranberries, or fold in fudge cubes. Rocky road forgives everything.
- Milk chocolate makes a sweeter, child-friendlier slab. Use half milk, half dark to keep some spine.
📦 Storing & freezing
Airtight in the fridge for 2 weeks, which makes it the best make-ahead bake on the site. It also freezes for 3 months and thaws in 20 minutes.
❓ Frequently asked
Why did my rocky road fall apart when cut?
Not pressed hard enough into the tin, or cut with a cold dry knife. Compact the mix firmly and cut with a hot, wiped blade in single downward strokes.
What keeps rocky road soft enough to bite?
The butter and golden syrup melted with the chocolate. Straight set chocolate goes rock hard in the fridge, and the fat and syrup keep the slab snappable but chewable.
Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.
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