Gut-friendly rockyroad

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! As the year draws to an end, it’s time for yummy, scrummy rockyroad. Sadly, all those marshmallows and lollies don’t agree with sensitive tummies so I’ve been on the search for something low fodmap. And then… I saw Luke Hines cook mixed berry rocky road on the House of Wellness. With a few tweaks here and a few tweaks there, it can be converted into something that’s delicious AND gut-friendly.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups dark chocolate, melted (this needs to be 80-85% cocoa to avoid fodmap stacking).

• 1/2 cup walnuts (up to 30g is a safe lofo serving)

• 1/2 cup macadamia nuts (up to 40g is a safe lofo serving)

• 1/2 cup pecans (up to 20g is a safe lofo serving)

• 1/2 cup Brazil nuts (up to 40g is a lofo serving)

• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries. In my opinion, no, you can’t use frozen raspberries because chocolate and water are mortal enemies so fresh is best (up to 60g or 30 berries is a safe lofo serving).

• 1/2 cup blueberries. Fresh, not frozen (up to 40g is a safe lofo serving).

• 1/4 cup cherries, whole. Fresh, not frozen (up to 20g is a safe lofo serving BUT… the reason why I use this on top as a “decoration” rather than a core ingredient is that 20g = 2 cherries so you’re going to have to be conscious about limiting your portions).

Method:

Dry roast your nuts over medium to high heat until they’re golden and aromatic. This takes up to 5 mins, depending on the heat. Once roasted, allow to cool. If you want to be super organised, you can do this the day below and store them in a cool place overnight.

Melt the chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water.

Line a small brownie tray with baking paper. Think about the end product before choosing your tray. Because the chocolate is rich and dark, you don’t want the rockyroad to be too thick. I used a square tray that was 20cm x 20 cm. From here, you want to layer chocolate, nuts, raspberries and blueberries - starting with the melted chocolate to cover the base of the tray. Because the cherries are whole and un-pitted, save them for the top layer.

Once assembled, put the rockyroad into the freezer and allow to set for 45 mins before slicing into randomly-sized chunks and serving. I used a long white tray and sprinkled the extra cherries and rose petals over the top for some additional Xmas cheer.

And here’s the rub - unlike traditional rockyroad recipes, this isn’t going to last long. After 3-4 days (depending on the freshness of your fruit), your berries will begin to weep. So my recommendation is that you prepare this to serve immediately or up to 1-2 days before your guests arrive for best results.

Makes 1 tray. Approximately 2 chunks is lofo but easy on those cherries!