Rocky Road Tiffin
Rocky road wearing the tiffin coat. Crushed digestive biscuits and chopped nuts bound in cocoa-butter mixture, studded with mini marshmallows and chunks of fudge, sealed under a milk-chocolate top with a white-chocolate drizzle. No bake, fridge-set, sliceable in twenty.
Overview
A hybrid: the no-bake biscuit base from a classic Scottish tiffin meets the marshmallow-and-nut load of an American rocky road. The base is digestives crushed mostly fine with some chunkier pieces, melted into butter-cocoa-syrup, mixed with mini marshmallows, glace cherries (optional), chopped pecans or hazelnuts, and chunks of fudge or honeycomb. Pressed into a tin, capped with milk chocolate, criss-crossed with white-chocolate drizzle. The chocolate top sets fast in the fridge; the marshmallows give the bake its characteristic uneven, rocky-looking surface where they push up against the chocolate.
Ingredients
The base
- 300 g digestive biscuits
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 100 g golden syrup (about 4 tablespoons)
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 30 g caster sugar
- 100 g mini marshmallows
- 80 g chopped pecans or hazelnuts (toasted, see notes)
- 80 g glace cherries (quartered, rinsed and dried)
- 80 g fudge chunks (or chopped Crunchie / honeycomb)
The topping
- 200 g milk chocolate
- 50 g white chocolate (for drizzle)
- A small handful of extra mini marshmallows + chopped nuts (for scattering)
Method
Stage 1 - Prep the tin
- Line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper, leaving overhang on two sides for lift-out later.
Stage 2 - Crush the biscuits
- Place the digestives in a sealed freezer bag. Bash with a rolling pin to mostly fine crumbs with a few pea-sized chunks remaining. Don't reduce to powder - the texture comes from varied biscuit sizes.
Stage 3 - Make the cocoa-butter mix
- Melt the butter, golden syrup, cocoa powder and sugar together in a large saucepan over a low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and glossy. The mixture should look like a thin chocolate ganache.
- Take off the heat and let the pan cool for 3-4 minutes - adding marshmallows to a hot pan melts them into the mixture instead of keeping them whole.
Stage 4 - Combine
- Stir the crushed biscuits into the cooled cocoa-butter mixture until uniformly coated.
- Add the marshmallows, chopped nuts, glace cherries and fudge chunks. Fold gently with a spatula - vigorous mixing breaks the marshmallows.
- Tip into the prepared tin. Spread to the edges, pressing down firmly with the back of a spoon. The surface should be uneven - marshmallows and fudge poking through is part of the look.
Stage 5 - Top with chocolate
- Melt the milk chocolate in 30-second microwave bursts (stirring between each) or over a pan of barely simmering water. Pour over the pressed base and spread to cover. Tap the tin gently to release bubbles.
- Melt the white chocolate the same way. Spoon into a small piping bag (or freezer bag with the corner snipped off). Pipe in random S-curves and squiggles across the milk-chocolate top.
- While the chocolate is still wet, scatter a small handful of extra marshmallows and chopped nuts over the surface for visual texture.
Stage 6 - Set and slice
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until fully set.
- Lift out using the baking-paper overhang. Bring to room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing so the chocolate top doesn't crack under the knife.
- Cut into 16 squares with a long, sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between cuts.
Notes
- Toasting the nuts: 5 minutes in a 180°C oven on a tray, watching for the moment they smell fragrant. Toasted nuts crunch better and taste deeper.
- Marshmallow timing: the mixture must be cool enough not to melt the marshmallows when they join - about 40-45°C. A hot mix dissolves them into goo; cooled mix keeps them puffy and distinct.
- Substitutions: dried cherries for glace cherries (less sweet), maltesers or M&Ms instead of fudge (different crunch), white chocolate base instead of milk for an all-white version (then drizzle with dark).
- Bigger tin: 20 x 30 cm gives thinner squares with more pieces per slab. Reduce chill time by 30 minutes.
Serving
On a plate at room temperature. With strong coffee or hot chocolate. Excellent travel-bake - robust enough for picnics and packed lunches.
Storage
- In an airtight tin at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- Refrigerate in summer or warm kitchens; chocolate softens above 22°C.
- Freezes for 3 months wrapped tightly; thaw overnight in the fridge.
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