This Hairy Bikers rocky road recipe melts Mars bars with butter, then stirs in shortbread chunks, marshmallows and Rice Krispies before it sets. With my 2-hour chill, the Mums Know Best tray takes 2 hours 20 minutes, and I cut 9 squares of an estimated 290 calories.
Their verdict is “so easy to make and tastes wonderful”, and the recipe comes from Aida Grier, whom they visited at home in Perthshire. But where many versions start with a bowl of melted chocolate, this one lets 3 Mars bars and butter do the binding.
Keeping the heat low while the Mars bars melt is the job here, so I’d follow their “gentle heat” to the letter. Because I’d expect the caramel to catch if it’s rushed, a scorched sauce could end up coating every chunk of shortbread and marshmallow.
Hairy Bikers Rocky Road
Description
Chopped chocolate bars go into a small pan with butter until smooth, then broken biscuits, cereal and marshmallows are stirred through. Once pressed into an oiled 15cm tin and chilled firm, about 2 hours by my timing, the slab is cut and served upside down.
Ingredients
For the rocky road
Instructions
- Oil the tin: Lightly oil a 15cm square tin.
- Melt: Chop up the Mars bars and put them in a small pan with the butter. Then melt them together over a gentle heat.
- Mix: Break the shortbread into chunks, then stir it into the melted mixture with the marshmallows and Rice Krispies.
- Press and set: Press the mixture into the tin, then leave it in the fridge to set.
- Cut and serve: When it has set, cut it into squares. Then turn them out upside down and serve.
FAQs
What is the One Pot Wonders rocky road?
It’s a newer version, which they say is quicker and cheaper than most because it’s mixed in one bowl with cocoa, not lots of chocolate. And it makes 9 squares or 18 triangles in a tin about 20cm square.
Here, sugar and 4 egg yolks are beaten with softened butter, cocoa and salt, then raisins, cherries, dates, almonds and chopped biscuits go in. Since the yolks stay raw, they say to use British Lion eggs, then chill it for several hours, preferably overnight. Or roll it into a sausage in cling film, and they suggest calling it chocolate salami.
How many squares does it make?
Aida’s recipe gives no yield, so the 9 squares here are my own cut from a 15cm tin. That makes fairly deep 5cm squares, which suits the whole marshmallows she likes.
For 16 smaller pieces, I’d cut it 4 by 4, which brings my calorie estimate down to about 160 a piece. And my figures assume today’s 51g Mars bars, though a standard bar was 58g when the book came out. So if the mix looks dry, half an extra bar would roughly make up the difference, which is my tweak rather than theirs.
Should the marshmallows be large or small?
Aida uses large fluffy marshmallows and leaves them whole, which makes it “more of a boulder road really”. But the list just says 140g, so I’d expect mini ones to give a flatter top and neater squares.
By contrast, the One Pot Wonders version uses only 25g of small marshmallows, and those are optional, pressed into the top before chilling.
Who is Aida, and what else did she bake for them?
Aida Grier and daughter Victoria are the Perthshire bakers they visited for Mums Know Best, who put on “an incredible spread”. And her bran loaf sits in the same chapter, where she says oat or wheat bran works equally well.
Mrs Miller’s jam-filled empire biscuits come from Aida’s circle too, since Mrs Miller is a lifelong friend of hers. Then their Mums Know Best millionaire’s shortbread is another good one for a tray of teatime treats.
How long does it keep, and does it work as a gift?
No keeping time is given, so I’d store it in an airtight box in the fridge, where it set in the first place. And because the One Pot Wonders version has raw yolks, I’d keep that one chilled too, which is my own caution rather than theirs.
A no-bake Mars bar rocky road boxed up in squares makes an easy edible gift, which is my suggestion rather than theirs. For something baked in the same box, their British Classics Biker brownies bring dark chocolate and hazelnuts. And from Mums Know Best, their condensed milk sticky date cake is one they say keeps well wrapped in foil in a tin.
