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If I was going to be stranded on a
desert island, and could take only one candy, Rocky Road would be my choice. I
know that Rocky Road can mean different things to different people, depending on
where you live, but for me it is white chunks of
soft and spongy marshmallow together with crunchy peanuts, all enrobed in a silky
smooth dark chocolate.
Rocky Road in its simplest form is
folding store bought miniature marshmallows, along with chopped nuts (peanuts,
walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, or almonds), into melted chocolate. While this Rocky
Road looks and tastes pretty good, to make it even better, David Lebovitz in his
excellent
book
The Great Book of Chocolate has two suggestions. One is to temper the chocolate
and the other is to use homemade marshmallows. So what is tempered chocolate
and why do we need it for our Rocky Road? I will try to explain, not so much the
science of it, but the process of making it. First, when you buy good dark
chocolate have you noticed that it is nice and shiny, dry to the touch, with a
hard and brittle surface which "snaps" when you break it? This is what we call
"tempered" chocolate and, unfortunately, once chocolate is melted it loses these
characteristics. While it is still great tasting, and you can use this melted
chocolate for making Rocky Road, as the chocolate dries it will no longer have
that lovely shine and brittle dry texture. Instead it will look dull and,
with time, gray streaks will appear (called bloom), and its texture will be a
slightly soft with an almost greasy feeling. So, if we want our Rocky Road to be
shiny, dry to the touch, with a nice crunch when you bite into it, then we need
to bring it back to its tempered state before adding the marshmallows and
peanuts. Tempering involves a three step process, melting the chocolate, cooling the chocolate, and reheating
the chocolate.
Before we start, you will need a
good chocolate thermometer as a regular candy thermometer does
not have a low enough temperature reading. Step One in tempering is to
melt one pound (454 grams) of good quality, chopped semi sweet chocolate in a clean and dry heatproof
bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted,
remove from heat. Step Two is to cool the chocolate down to a temperature of
between 83 - 85 degrees F (28-29 degrees C). This is done by gradually stirring
into the melted chocolate the remaining 1/4 pound (115 grams) of chopped
chocolate, using a rubber spatula (do not use a wooden spoon or medal spoon). Be
patient as this will take a little time. Stir the chocolate often and as it
cools it will start to thicken and lighten in color. Step Three is that, once
the chocolate reaches this 83 - 85 degrees F range, it must be reheated to
between 88 - 91 degrees F (31 - 33 degrees C). Do this by placing the bowl of
melted chocolate back over a saucepan of simmering water for only about 3-5
seconds. Then, remove from heat, stir well, and check the
temperature. If it has not reached the correct temperature return to the heat
for another 3-5 seconds. Keep doing this process until the chocolate reaches
between 88 and 91 degrees F (no higher). It is important to only reheat the
chocolate to this temperature, for if it goes any higher, you will need to start
the whole "tempering" process again. The final step is to quickly fold
the marshmallows and peanuts into the tempered chocolate and spread it on a
parchment lined baking sheet. Leave at room temperature until hard (can also
place in the refrigerator) and then cut into pieces. Rocky Road will keep at
room temperature for about 10-14 days. Or, if you are like me and like your
Rocky Road chilled, store in the refrigerator where it will keep for about a
month.
Besides tempering the chocolate,
the best Rocky Road uses homemade marshmallows. Now if you are pressed for time
you can use store bought miniature marshmallows. However, homemade marshmallows
(recipe here) are wonderfully sweet with the scent of vanilla and have a spongy airiness that
seems to just dissolve in your mouth. They can be made up to two weeks in
advance of making the Rocky Road. If you are like me, you will probably want to eat these marshmallows just as they are
because they are that good. Luckily, we only need about half the pan of
marshmallow to make Rocky Road, so the rest you can just enjoy. |
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