The Cake Doctor

Dear Cake Doctor

Life’s become bland and boring. Any chance you’d be able to prescribe something to add some ups and downs?

Love,

Dear Bored & Listless

I’m sorry to hear nothing’s been going on in your life of late. Everyone needs a bit of exhilaration from time to time. If there’s nothing exciting coming up on your horizon, why don’t you try something a little different, something a bit edgy? I’m prescribing white chocolate rocky road. A higgledy piggledy concoction of pillowy marshmallows, crunchy malted milk biscuits, chewy dried blueberries, crispy Maltesers and brittle macadamias, all stuck together with gooey white chocolate.

The beauty of rocky road is the surprise in every bite – you won’t know what the next mouthful will hold. Not only that, but the tartness of the dried blueberries cuts through the sweetness of the white chocolate, and the crunchiness of the biscuits contrasts delightfully with the soft and squishy marshmallows.

You’ll also have a lovely time pulling it all together, because every ingredient’s so delicious on its own – you won’t be able to resist popping the odd macadamia, blueberry or biscuit shard into your mouth as you prepare each component of the finished product. Then, when your rocky road’s set and chopped into pieces, one square will give you the energy to embark on almost any adventure you choose.

It’s so simple, yet so delicious and moreish. You might not even be able to resist a square for breakfast. Imagine – excitement and adventure from dawn until dusk!

Love,

Complaint: Bored and listless

Prescription: white chocolate rocky road to add adventure to your life

Ingredients

400g white chocolate (or more if you like)

200g marshmallows

135g packet of Maltesers

150g macadamia nuts

200g malted milk biscuits

50g dried blueberries

Method

Line a flat tin (like a brownie tin, about 32cm long, 22cm wide and 4cm high) with aluminium foil.

Break the white chocolate up into chunks and place in a medium sized bowl.

Now, melt the chocolate either in the microwave, or over a bain-marie. If you’re using your microwave, zap it on high for one minute, then stir the softened chocolate and zap for another minute. Stir again until the chocolate is completely melted. If you’re using a bain-marie, place a small or medium saucepan over a medium heat with about two centimetres of water in the bottom. Balance the bowl of chocolate inside the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. You’ll need to check which bowl balances without touching the bottom of the pan before you start! Stir the chocolate as it slowly melts over the steam of the simmering water.

Set the melted chocolate aside to cool a little.

Now, take a chopping board and cut each of the marshmallows into four, and place the pieces in to a large mixing bowl.

Roughly halve the Maltesers and add to the bowl.

Roughly halve the macadamia nuts and add to the bowl.

Cut the malted milk biscuits into about six pieces. Don’t worry about making the pieces the same size – the rougher the cut, the rockier the road! Make sure you pop a few shards in your mouth as you go.

Tip the dried blueberries into the bowl and mix everything together with your hands, or use two spatulas (pretend you’re using salad tongs!).

Now, tip the melted white chocolate over the mixture and use the two spatulas to coat the dry ingredients with sticky, gooey white chocolate.

Once you have a well-coated mixture, tip the lot into your prepared tin, cover with foil, and pop in the fridge for a couple of hours. I’d also spend some time thoroughly licking the spatulas of any remnants of white chocolate.

Once your rocky road has set, carefully remove from the tin, peel the foil off the bottom, and place on a chopping board. Cut into chunks as large as you like – bigger chunks for greater adventures, smaller for just a taste of what’s to come…

Love,

The Cake Doctor x