No bake Rocky Road

I often hear people say, “I can't bake”. I bake a lot; not just for our own consumption but also for bake sales and groups of hungry runners. When faced with a request to bake something many people squirm out of it but now you have no excuse. This is about as simple as it gets – melt some of the ingredients, mix in the rest and then chill until set. It's so easy even a child could do which means it also makes a great end of term teacher present.

In this recipe I have used digestive biscuits but you could substitute them for something like rich tea or even ginger biscuits. I like the juiciness of glacé cherries but other dried fruit such as sultanas or cranberries would also work. Likewise for the nuts almonds or macadamia nuts would be acceptable. A note on the chocolate – don't bother buying the expensive stuff for this. I mix together the value chocolate and have found a 50/50 combination of milk and dark gives just the right balance of bitter and sweet.

Equipment: 8in (20cm) square silicone cake mould or cake tin (this will need to be lined), large saucepan.

Ingredients

4oz (115g) Unsalted butter

3 oz (85g) Golden syrup

3½ oz (100g) Dark chocolate, roughly chopped

3½ oz (100g) Milk chocolate, roughly chopped

5oz (140g) Digestive biscuits, broken into small pieces

2oz (55g) Mini marshmallows

4oz (115g) Glacé cherries, washed, dried and halved

2oz (55g) Brazil nuts, chopped

Method

1. Melt the butter, golden syrup and chocolate in a large saucepan.

2. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes before adding in the biscuits, marshmallows, cherries and nuts and then stir together so everything is coated.

3. If using a silicone mould put it on a plate before pouring the mixture into it and spread it out so the top is level.

4. Place in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours before turning out and cutting into slices.