Festive seasons are the perfect time to share family favourites. My 'Rugly Road' is a family and friends festive essential.
It is
impossible to hide this temptation successfully in the fridge as it seems to
disappear although ‘no-one’ at my house ever admits to sneaking a piece. So enjoy - before it vanishes!
The ingredients are just a guide.
If you don’t like dark chocolate then
use milk chocolate, although it is worth buying a good brand as it will affect
the flavour – an extra $ spent on the ingredients really makes a difference to
the overall taste. Regarding the nuts –
if you have your favourites mix and match or add a little more – just be sure
to use unsalted nuts. Ditto with the other ingredients – the chocolate is just
meant to thickly coat the ingredients and adhere them into a delicious treat as
it cools.
Turkish Delight – oh yes. I mean the good deli stuff – shake off the
icing sugar (I save this to use in desserts later on). I regard this as the star of my Rugly Road. My absolute addiction is the
pistachio and rosewater variety – never as good as in Istanbul, but close.
Preparation: This is enough for a heatproof rectangular dish approx. 25cm x 18 cm or you could use a couple of small loaf tins. Line well with nonstick paper.
Ingredients
350 g marshmallows – cut in half only if using very
large ones. They shrink a little when the warm chocolate coats them
Small handful coconut flakes – toasted.
¼ cup dry roasted almonds – halved
¼ cup pecan pieces
½ cup (70g) shelled pistachios - roasted
¼ - 1/3 cup raw macadamias – lightly toasted
400 g Turkish Delight - proper Turkish Delight (I like the pistachio
and rosewater) – chopped
1/3 - ½ cup dried cranberries – craisins
and / or a few semi dried wild figs halved
and / or a few golden sultanas
a few glacé red cherries – halved. Look for natural glacé cherries, no artificial sweeteners.
400 g good chocolate – I often use 200g milk and
200g 70% dark chocolate – melted. See below.
Edible rose petals and some shaved chocolate to
decorate top.
Method
Dry roast coconut on low in a wide frypan – stir
regularly. Only needs a couple of
minutes. Do not burn. Remove from pan. Allow to cool
Repeat for the nuts. Dry roast until just
toasted. Remove and allow to cool.
Prepare pans with non-stick paper.
In large bowl – mix all ingredients except the chocolate together.
Combine well so they are ready - soon you
will add in the chocolate which is prepared as below.
Melt chocolate in a heat proof bowl, allow to cool
slightly.
I use the microwave, lowest temperature setting and
set for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat and repeat until almost melted. Then for 10
seconds etc until gently melted. Never
allow moisture or water to touch the chocolate or it will go grainy. Be careful
not to melt for too long or it will start to burn.
Stir and fold into dry ingredients so all
ingredients are well distributed.
Pour gently into pans and smooth top. Don’t pour too thick or it
will be too hard to cut later.
About 2 – 3 cm thick is quite enough.
Decorate with the edible rose petals and shaved
chocolate. Push in very gently to adhere to top.
Refrigerate minimum 3 hours. Cut
into serving pieces. I cut it into bite size pieces when it has chilled. Use a strong knife and dip knife in hot water,
wipe, then slice to make cutting easier.
Enjoy! Colleen
Very tempting picture. I made this for Easter and for family gifts instread of easter choc eggs and wrapping up in nice paper. I liked taste and so did the freinds and family. good will do again maybe next holiday
ReplyDelete