Don't know if you've noticed, but there hasn't been a Baking with 'Baby' post in a while. It's not so easy now she's a five year old and spends all day in school. However, Easter hols and we've finally found some time to get baking - in our efforts to use up her Easter choccy stash... along with a few other Easter goodies too!
Like I said in a previous post about Easter eggs, there is a LOT more choice for the dairy free these days - so much so that 'Baby' had a HUGE pile of choccy come her way over Easter. It actually made me groan inwardly - all that choccy for a five year old! It didn't seem right... or that healthy to me!
Mind you, this recipe 'aint that healthy either! Ho hum! At least it uses up some choccy and those Easter marshmallows I foolishly bought (well really, who eats marshmallows, when there's all that chocolate around?)! Although, in the end, we didn't use 'Baby's' Easter choccy as it happens, because 'Baby' didn't take too kindly to the idea of melting her Kinnerton Easter bunny! And there was me with ideas of artistic melting bunny shots - think chocolatey Titanic bunny in a saucepan!
Ah well!
Like I said in a previous post about Easter eggs, there is a LOT more choice for the dairy free these days - so much so that 'Baby' had a HUGE pile of choccy come her way over Easter. It actually made me groan inwardly - all that choccy for a five year old! It didn't seem right... or that healthy to me!
Mind you, this recipe 'aint that healthy either! Ho hum! At least it uses up some choccy and those Easter marshmallows I foolishly bought (well really, who eats marshmallows, when there's all that chocolate around?)! Although, in the end, we didn't use 'Baby's' Easter choccy as it happens, because 'Baby' didn't take too kindly to the idea of melting her Kinnerton Easter bunny! And there was me with ideas of artistic melting bunny shots - think chocolatey Titanic bunny in a saucepan!
Ah well!
However there was enough dairy free chocolate hiding in nooks and crannies in the kitchen - y'know Kinnerton lollies I'd saved for 'just in case' moments, like parties, but lost/forgot/hadn't got around to using before it 'bloomed'. It was just enough for the recipe we used, anyway! All 300g of it!
I'd Googled a few recipes and each had their merits. I hadn't realised that there were so many variations you could have and that these were dependent on where you came from! I quite liked the idea of adding crushed meringue, but thought that might be a sugar hit too far and was quite taken with the idea of including honeycomb, but didn't think 'Baby' would have the patience to make the Hokey Pokey first. As it turned out I was right - as soon as she realised what we were about she wanted to crack on with it ASAP!!
And who can blame her! Just feast your eyes on this:
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| What a way to use up those Easter left-overs! |
The recipe I settled on was a recipe by Pig in the Kitchen. It was a nice easy peasy recipe - chuck it all in and stir and a great way to use up these bits and pieces from the cupboard:
Pig - a legend in the allergy friendly baking world (if you haven't come across her yet, why not?) - seemed to have created the perfect Rocky Road brilliant balance, but I like to think our tweaks are worth a mention!
UPDATE 2020:
Sadly, Pig is no longer blogging and her website is currently vacant, but her recipe was retrievable via archive and we have it here:
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| Great left-overs to have! |
UPDATE 2020:
Sadly, Pig is no longer blogging and her website is currently vacant, but her recipe was retrievable via archive and we have it here:
To begin with, we followed the recipe - we broke the choccy (mostly Kinnerton, which melts really nicely) into the saucepan.
'It smells a bit minty,' remarked 'Baby' as she cheerfully added the choccy buttons from my ONLY Easter egg.
'Oh no it isn't!' replied I.
She was right, I was wrong! I hadn't realised the choccy buttons on my dark chocolate Celtic Choices Easter egg were actually minty! The egg wasn't! Doh!
Had I but known, I wouldn't have added them - I'd have searched my cupboard a bit more, but hey, funnily enough that hint of mint added a certain Je n'cest quoi that took away the edge of any sicklyishness, that you can sometimes get from very rich and sticky sweet foods!
Had I but known, I wouldn't have added them - I'd have searched my cupboard a bit more, but hey, funnily enough that hint of mint added a certain Je n'cest quoi that took away the edge of any sicklyishness, that you can sometimes get from very rich and sticky sweet foods!
To the chocolate and Pure dairy free margarine which were melted together in the saucepan first, we added the golden syrup, broken-up biccies and our marshmallow chicks.
I would have quite liked to add Bourbon biscuits a la Lucy's Friendly Foods recipe. 'Baby' loves the Waitrose Essential Bourbons, but they're not gluten free, so no good for me, so instead we used the Barkat biscuits (pictured above) that I had picked up from the Free From and Allergy Show the other year. I'd bought, stashed and forgotten them! They were six months past their 'Best Before' date, but I think they still taste okay... if a little bit of coffee! Strangely enough, this too seems to enhance the overall flavour!
I would have quite liked to add Bourbon biscuits a la Lucy's Friendly Foods recipe. 'Baby' loves the Waitrose Essential Bourbons, but they're not gluten free, so no good for me, so instead we used the Barkat biscuits (pictured above) that I had picked up from the Free From and Allergy Show the other year. I'd bought, stashed and forgotten them! They were six months past their 'Best Before' date, but I think they still taste okay... if a little bit of coffee! Strangely enough, this too seems to enhance the overall flavour!
The marshmallow chicks were a bit on the chunky side. We could have cut them up, but I thought it would be fun to see what they would turn out like without that. As it happens, the choccy disguised them so well, they may as well have just been chopped, but I think they added to the overall rockiness effect of our road, as you can see here:
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| It's certainly quite a bumpy road! |
For a final using up of Easter treats from the cupboard, I added some sprinkles and these mini sugar coated marzipan Easter eggs, that we got from Waitrose. It was a toss up between these or the colourful jelly bean type ones, but 'Baby' finally told me the other week that she didn't like jelly beans. As it happens, it happens she doesn't like the marzipan ones either - too sugary, apparently!!
Oh well - more for me, then!
But as for the Rocky Road itself, well I think we can safely say that was a hit with 'Baby'!
HUZZAH!
Now all we need is some people to help us eat it all up... or I could save some for another day by freezing it (up to one month, apparently)! Yes, maybe I'll do that!
Oh well - more for me, then!
But as for the Rocky Road itself, well I think we can safely say that was a hit with 'Baby'!
HUZZAH!
Now all we need is some people to help us eat it all up... or I could save some for another day by freezing it (up to one month, apparently)! Yes, maybe I'll do that!
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Fantastic idea, thank you, we will be copying this one. We also received a fair amount of dairyfree easter eggs and chocolates. I'm not sure I will be allowed to melt the choices bunnies but maybe I will do that bit first?
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear there was so much more choice this year for all our children :D