I had some leftover marshmallow from the toadstool cake I made Erika for her birthday (piccies on Insty), so thought I would make some rocky road. Easily the most addictive and moreish treat — even hubby, who doesn’t like overly sweet things, gobbled it up. So here’s the recipe:
250g chocolate (I had some milk buds to finish off, but the majority was dark)
50g butter
1 pkt Natural Confectionary Company raspberry jellies
30g shredded coconut
handful of raw peanuts
approximately 1/3 of the marshmallow recipe from ‘The Artisan Marshmallow‘
Spray a tray or loaf tin with oil and line with baking paper on the bottom and two sides.
Toast coconut and peanuts in a hot oven and allow to cool.
Chop the raspberry jellies in half or quarters.
Melt butter and chocolate together in a double-boiler on the stove, and remove when just combined — you don’t want the mixture getting too hot or it will melt your marshmallow.
Slice your marshmallow into approximately 1.5cm chunks, and toss with the toasted shredded coconut and peanuts (this will adhere to the sticky sides of your marshmallow).
Add all ingredients to your chocolate mixture, stir to combine.
Press into your prepared tin, cover and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours (it’s hard to wait that long, but you really should).
Remove from the tin, and slice into big chunks with a large, sharp knife.
Voila! Also makes a great Christmas gift!
OH! Hi. Yes, I'm feeling a little sheepish. I haven't forgotten you, how could I? It's just, you know, life and stuff getting in the way of my sitting down here and having a good natter. But life is good, very good. My little munchkin Erika is filling my days with love and laughter and chubby-bubby cuddles. And at night I've been doing a little bit of freelance work, which I have been REALLY enjoying. It's a little exercise for my brain, working that creative muscle. Oh and some left brain stuff too — writing html and css — which has, surprisingly, been fun too.
I've recently designed a blog for a photographer friend of mine. She provides photographic services to retailers around Melbourne, and has an obsession with vintage cameras (I am so jealous of her collection!). Head on over to Teacup Ballet to check it out, and why not stop off at her Teacup Ballet Facebook page, 'Like' to receive blog updates in your news feed.
My poor ol' blog in the meantime is feeling horribly neglected, and in desperate need of attention. Soon, my pretty, soon!
Oooh, I am so very excited — check out the spoils from my recent shopping adventure! Can't wait to play!
Yes, I have succumbed. And before you say 'puh! She's spelt macaroons wrong!', as I did the first time I saw it spelt this way, I should tell you that 'macaron' is French (although apparently derived from an Italian word). The English word 'macaroon' can also refer to a coconut macaroon (one of my mum's favourite biscuits from the Women's Weekly 'Beautiful Biscuits' cookbook!), so many people are adopting the French spelling to differentiate between the two.
I had been keen to try baking macarons for ages, but having a reputation for being extremely difficult to get right, I wasn't keen to spend hours perfecting it. And in steps Melzy. My mate Mel is a baking fiend. She'd conquered the world of the cupcake and was looking for a new challenge. Having already done three batches with different recipes and techniques, she was sure she had discovered the secrets. And so she had.
For the macaron shell, we used the basic recipe from Secrets of Macarons, by Jose Marechal. I've looked at a few other recipes online, but I think this one is the best, as it uses equal quantities — so simple to remember! For the creamy centre, we used a basic vanilla buttercream, recipe below.
vanilla buttercream
125g butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup icing sugar
Beat until pale and light. Easy!
I am really looking forward to trying new colours and flavours. I only hope I can replicate our success without my mate! First stop, I need to buy the recipe book, a sugar thermometer and a teeny little saucepan… wish me luck!
