Bake, eat, love, repeat
We often hear about cyclists charging to the nearest cake cafe to fuel their rides, well with tips from Nadiya Hussain you can bake your own delights to take out with you or simply enjoy at home with friends and family.
If you’ve read any headlines about Nadiya potentially starring in I’m a Celebrity 2021 – where it’s less about cake and more about cockroaches and other creepy crawlies – rest assured, she is firmly in the baking camp.
“Baking has become such a massive part of who I am that there is no denying it. I live it, I breathe it, I whisk, stir, measure and bake it! For goodness’ sake, I dream about it! I really do,” she told LK.
“Baking is my first love.”
Caramel Crunch Rocky Road
The best rocky road is chewy, crunchy and gooey – with a tonne of chocolate! Blend chocolate-caramel sweets and melted choc with breadsticks for the crunch, then pistachios and sweet white chocolate mixed with apricots and berries.
Makes 12 squares
Prep 30 minutes, plus chilling
Cook 2 minutes
Ingredients
butter, for greasing tin
8 x 52g caramel-filled chocolates, ideally ones with biscuit in
150g dark chocolate, chopped or chips
50g unsalted butter
45g golden syrup
70g breadsticks, lightly broken
150g pistachios, roughly chopped
a good pinch of sea
salt flakes
For the white layer:
150g white chocolate, chopped or chips
50g unsalted butter
45g golden syrup
65g dried cherries and berries
65g dried apricots, chopped
Method
Begin by lining and lightly greasing an 18 x 25cm rectangular cake tin or a 20cm square cake tin.
Take the chocolates out of their packets and line them up on the base of the tin till you have no more spaces. It’s okay to have some gaps as when you put on the next layer it seeps through to hold it all together.
Add the dark chocolate, butter and golden syrup to a microwaveable bowl and heat for 1 minute.
Take out and mix till you have a smooth mixture. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Add the breadsticks to the mixture and mix through till well coated. Spread out evenly on top of the chocolates.
Now, sprinkle over the chopped pistachios until the base is covered all over. Use the back of a spoon to pat the mixture down and sprinkle over the sea salt flakes. Pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to set a little.
Make the white layer by putting the white chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a microwaveable bowl and melting in the microwave for 1 minute. Take out and stir till smooth. If it looks like it is starting to separate, add a little hot water one spoonful at a time, mixing after each addition till it comes back together and is smooth and glossy.
Add the cherries and berries and chopped apricots and mix through.
Take the tin out of the fridge and add the white layer, making sure to spread evenly, then pop back into the fridge to set for at least a few hours.
Take out and slice, then refrigerate until ready to eat.
Recipe taken from Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain (Michael Joseph, £22).
