Outside the box

…..the chocolate one that is!

It's that time again and the summer holidays are upon us. For those out there who'll be entertaining the children and/or grandchildren I thought you might like an idea or four in the chocolate line that may occupy the older kids (with some supervision) in that they can make these treats themselves.

First up,

Malteser Cake

125g unsalted butter

400g milk chocolate, broken into small pieces

2 tbsp golden syrup

250g digestives - crushed

135g Maltesers

Line a 20cm tin with parchment.

Melt the butter in a large pan, then add the chocolate and syrup until melted.

Remove the pan from the heat, allow to cool slightly then stir in the biscuits and Maltesers. Pour into the tin and refrigerate for two hours.

Cut into squares.

Alternatives:

Could make with chopped Crunchie bars,

Could drizzle with melted white chocolate,

Could decorate with extra Maltesers.

I say Malteser Cake, you can make it in a circular tin but these days I make it as a tray bake (standard size) – it's easier to cut into squares and therefore portion control – bite size pieces. I got this recipe from Whizzer's best friend – another thank you. A couple of tips – if you think the ingredients a tad expensive, buy “own brand” versions from one of the well known cheaper supermarkets. Sainsbury's Basic range produce 100g bars of milk chocolate and I have to say it's ideal for this recipe – at 35p. On the upside the tray bake cut into said bite size pieces will give you 4 x 500g pots so quite a substantial amount. I should be able to say how long its lifespan but in all truth it has never lasted long enough to be able to say. Realistically a week kept in sealed containers.

Here's a photo of what you can expect-

Conversely if you feel like making a posher batch for the grown ups, use a more expensive Swiss/Belgian milk chocolate and serve as the ultimate “understated petit four” - it's a bit like the old fashioned sweets – sit back and watch it disappear.

And second:

Rocky Road

250g dark chocolate

150g milk chocolate

175g soft butter, unsalted

4 x 15ml tbsp golden syrup

200g of hobnobs

*150g shelled Brazil nuts

*150g red glace cherries

*125g mini marshmallows

Put the biscuits into a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin to get a mixture of rubble.

Put the Brazil nuts into another freezer bag and bash them too.

Chop both sorts of chocolate into small pieces, or use chocolate buttons made for melting and then put them into a heavy-based saucepan to melt with the butter and syrup over a gentle heat.

Take the pan off the heat and add the biscuit and nuts, cherries and mini marshmallows. Turn carefully so that all the ingredients are coated with the syrupy chocolate.

Tip into a foil tray (I use a tray bake size), smoothing the top as best you can, although it is meant to be bumpy.

Refrigerate until firm enough to cut, which will take about 1½-2 hours. Take the set block out of the tray. With the long side in front of you cut 6 slices down and 4 across so that you have 24 squares.

Make ahead tip:

Make the Rocky Road and refrigerate to set, cut into bars and then store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.

Freeze ahead tip:

Make the Rocky Road as above and free for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in a cool place. Decorate as above before serving.

Taken and tweaked from 'Nigella Christmas'.

Here's a photo of what you can expect -

The above recipe is the basic Rocky Road recipe. You will see three ingredients above marked “*”. These ingredients can be swapped to suit your own personal taste. You can take any of the ingredients given on the following “Design your own Rocky Road” sheet.

Design your own Rocky Road

Traditionally Rocky Road is made using Brazil nuts,

glace cherries and marshmallow.

Rules are meant to be broken - take a look at the

list below and if you'd like to design your own

Rocky Road swap any or all of the three

ingredients above

(or may be four if you can't bear

to leave a real favourite ingredient out!)

Peanut

Pistachio

Pecan

Hazelnut

Glace cherry

Dried sour cherries

Cranberry

Apricot

Banana chips

Pineapple

Sultanas

Nougat

Turkish Delight

Fudge

Toblerone

Praline

Salted Caramel

Mini Marshmallow

Popping Candy

Lest you should start to suffer from a chocolate overdose, the remaining two recipes next time.