Rocky Road

I am a recent convert to Rocky Road, having never really eaten it until two years ago when a really good batch was gifted to the office.  Since then I’ve meant to give it a go.  So when all thoughts of making preserves as Christmas gifts were no longer feasible time wise, I thought of these and speedily put a few bags together the night before dishing them out as Christmas offerings for work colleagues. 

The white chocolate bars are very festive looking but that is not to say you can't make them all year round.  You can always kid yourself they’re healthy with the pistachios and cranberries. 

I made the recipe twice, once with white chocolate and once with dark and then combined the two types in cellophane gift bags.  My preference was for the white chocolate both in taste and appearance.  I suggest using a good quality chocolate as it does make all the difference.

Of course this post was supposed to be pre-Christmas but I’m sure most of you will know that last-minute seasonal panic that normally occurs and will forgive me, especially if I leave you with this quote which I pinned earlier today from Pinterest and via this site. I think it fits the bill for the coming of a new year.

Be kind

work hard

stay humble

smile often

stay loyal

keep honest

travel when possible

never stop learning

be thankful always and

...love.

Rocky Road 

250g white (or dark) chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup shelled pistachios

½ cup dried cranberries

100g marshmallows (if you're using the bigger ones, chop if you wish)

Grease and line a baking tin or Pyrex dish (approx. 15cm x 20cm), leaving an overlap of baking paper for easy removal.

Put the chocolate uncovered in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave in bursts of 30 seconds (stirring after each burst) for about 1-2 minutes or until melted and smooth.

Mix the pistachios, cranberries and marshmallows in a large bowl.  Add the melted chocolate and stir to combine.

Press the mixture into the tin and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or until set. Cut into squares, rectangles or chunks.

I served mine straight from the fridge (summer here).

Munchy Muesli Bars

I thought the other half might appreciate these muesli bars to have on the run. He’s the (very) early riser and heads to work whilst most of us are probably deep in sleep. 

They are fairly nutritious, so easy to make, store well and you can pop them in a plastic bag or container to take to work or eat en route (providing you don’t make a mess in the car!). 

The recipe is from Nigella’s website here but I have adapted it slightly to use a mixture of my favourite nuts as I’m not a fan of peanuts (except for some bizarre current craving for Peanut M&Ms), so here’s my version below. (I also seem to get way more bars than she does.)

I have done muesli bars before but it’s been a while so I can’t really say which ones I prefer.  So you choose whether you want this healthier version which is bound together with sweetened condensed milk or the all out earlier ones which used sizeable quantities of butter, sugar and golden syrup to bind, along with a lot more dried fruit. 

When the tin was empty, Bill was left with the shop bought ones (which, I have to point out, he brought home) and it was a case of “after you’ve tried the homemade, you don’t want to go there…

Looks like a regular order then. Think I will have to make both recipes to see how they compare.

Nigella’s Breakfast Bars

1 x 395g tin sweetened condensed milk

250g rolled oats

125g mixed nuts (I used a mix of brazil nuts, cashews, almonds and hazelnuts)

50g pumpkin seeds

50g sunflower seeds

25g sesame seeds

100g dried cranberries

75g thread coconut

Preheat oven to 130 degrees C (250 F).

Grease a baking tray approximately 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 inch). 

Line the bottom with baking paper.

Warm the sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan.

Meanwhile, mix together all the other ingredients and then add the warmed, condensed milk

Spread the mixture into the tin and press down with your hands – I use a stainless steel pastry scraper to press down evenly across the surface.

Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from the oven and leave for 15 minutes.  Cut into squares or bars – makes about 16-20 (maybe more) depending on what size you prefer.

Leave to cool completely and transfer to a tin.

Cranberry, vanilla and yogurt loaf

I was having a sloth-like morning.  Everything I touched turned to “no”.  Didn’t feel like going out, didn’t feel like baking.  Three times I started gathering ingredients for recipes and three times I put them away.  Most unproductive.  I loathe using the phrase “I can’t be bothered”, but that’s how I felt.

Later in the afternoon the apathy lifted and a sudden burst of energy resulted in this lovely loaf which wasn’t even in the running earlier.  It does have the air of a “cheer me now” cake so perhaps it was just what I needed.  Each slice has little bursts of cranberries and a taste and texture reminiscent of a madeira cake.  The icing could be optional but I urge you to spread it on.  It adds a crunch, a tang, a touch of sweetness and just makes it look way more special than an ordinary fruit loaf. 

This little happy cake is my entry to Sweet New Zealand hosted this month by the delightful Sue at Couscous & Consciousness.  

Cranberry, vanilla and yogurt loaf

100g butter

100g caster sugar

300g Greek-style (or natural) yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

250g standard flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g dried cranberries

for the icing

100g icing sugar, sifted

1-2 tbsp fresh orange juice, sieved

pink food colouring

Preheat oven to 160°C (180°F)

Grease and line a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin. 

Cream the butter and sugar in a cake mixer until soft and fluffy (you will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times in the process). 

Add the yogurt and vanilla and mix on lowest speed until just combined.

Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda together and fold gently into the mix in two batches.  Add the cranberries and fold in gently (check the cranberries do not stick together in bunches).  Do not overmix.

Spoon the mix into the loaf tin.  Level the top with a palette knife dipped in a little hot water. 

Bake in the oven for approximately 50 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely, then ice.

For the icing

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add enough orange juice to make a smooth consistency, not too runny or too thick.  (Add more icing sugar if too runny or more orange juice if too thick).  Add a drop of food colouring.  I use a skewer for this and dip it into the colouring, adding enough to reach the desired colour.  Mix thoroughly until smooth and colouring incorporated.  Spread or drizzle over the cake and leave to set.

Adapted from a recipe for sour cherry yogurt cake from Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell.

cranberry and custard scones

To think I could have been indulging in these scones for years – six to be exact.  For that is how long the recipe has been languishing in my folder.  Unused.  Unloved.  Until now.

I’ve passed over this recipe many times.  Not because they didn’t look lovely – large scones oozing with custard and drizzled with icing – but because I thought they’d be time consuming.  Whipping up a batch of scones is one thing, but custard and icing too?  Sigh … if only I’d known.

Well now I can confirm that this recipe takes scones to a new high.  My first taste – and I couldn’t wait to taste them – was like biting into a cross between a Danish pastry and a scone.  Seriously scrumptious.  The vultures thought so too.  The scones vanished in seconds. 

As well as mistakenly waiting too long to attempt them, I also erred in the amount I made.  I halved the recipe figuring three of us would not eat twelve scones.  Wrong.  Three of us would have eaten twelve scones.  Hell, one of us may have eaten twelve scones!  I swear they were that good.  The look on B’s face said the same.  If there is one piece of sage advice I can give you – I implore you to make lots!

The recipe was published in City Mix magazine in 2005 and came from the then chef, Katrina Smith of Craven “A” café, 4 Saint Paul St, Auckland (I believe the café is still there, not sure if the chef is).  The café is near the University of Auckland and I imagine masses of grateful students have hungrily demolished these.  A warning to Katrina – if you ever see me, run!  I feel I am going to be overcome with gratitude for this treat and plant big kisses on your cheeks!

cranberry and custard scones

Makes 12 scones

a handful of dried cranberries

3 cups standard flour

3 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 pinch salt

200g butter, diced or grated

milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 cups custard (make custard following packet directions)

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Place cranberries in a saucepan, add a little water and heat gently until cranberries are softened and water has evaporated.  Drain to remove excess water and leave to cool.

Make custard following packet directions (or use store-bought, chilled custard) and leave to cool (place in the fridge to cool down quickly if you are short of time). 

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Rub in the butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add enough milk to form a soft, but not sticky, dough – use a palette knife to bring the mixture together.  Roll dough into a large rectangle and cut in half.  Brush both halves with the beaten egg.

Spread the custard over one half of the dough and sprinkle with the cranberries.  Place the other half of the dough on top.  Brush the top with beaten egg.  Cut into 12 pieces, place on a lined baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes.

When cooled slightly but still warm, drizzle the scones with the icing, or you can glaze with hot jam or dust with icing sugar.