Sorry I haven’t been around much these past few weeks, but I’ve been hanging out with Lil’ L. He’s growing up fast, and since this could be the last summer that he actually wants to hang out with me, I’ve been savouring every moment. We’ve had so much fun! This week’s highlights (so far) have been hiking, biking, playing tennis, picnicking in the park, a trip to the cinema (How To Train Your Dragon 2) and playing in the kitchen 🙂
Last weekend we got back from our vacation and there was a postal delivery card waiting for us. First thing Monday morning, we hopped on our bikes and pedalled down to the post office. I jumped with glee when I saw that the mystery parcel was the latest The Vegan Kind Subscription Box. I couldn’t wait to do the big ‘reveal’!
As usual, the box was filled with interesting brands and products that I’m excited to try out. Lil’ L’s eyes especially lit up when he saw these….
While regular marshmallows are made with gelatine (a slaughterhouse byproduct), Freedom Mallows are gelatine free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free and nut free, and thus suitable for vegetarians and vegans, as well as people with gluten, dairy and nut allergies/intolerances.
And it’s incredible how similar they are to regular marshmallows, both in taste and texture. My mum loves marshmallows and even she can’t tell the difference.
Over the winter, Lil’ L enjoyed slicing and sprinkling vanilla mallows onto his hot chocolates. This time round, we thought it would be fun to make some Rocky Road. While I stood by, Lil’ L set to work melting chocolate and coconut oil…
…bashing biscuits
…then adding mallows and mixing it altogether. Since our mallows were strawberry flavoured, we thought it would be nice to finish off our Rocky Road with a sprinkling of freeze-dried strawberries (which we had left over from these Chocolate Crunch Hearts).
After a couple of hours in the freezer, the Rocky Road was ready to slice and sample. It got a huge thumbs up from Lil’ L!
So far this week, he’s enjoyed it as a treat snack at the cinema and the tennis courts. While it’s a little too sweet for me, Lil’ L reckons it’ll be a hit with kids or anyone with a sweet tooth. It would be great for sharing at children’s tea parties or selling at charity or school fundraisers. It would also make a lovely home-made gift for sweet-loving veggie friends, wrapped in a special box or tin ♥
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Rocky Road… Vegan Style!
Got a sweet tooth? Then this treat is for you! It’s easy and fun to prepare. It makes a great rainy day activity for veggie kids, young and old alike!
Makes about 12 pieces
Hands-on time: 15 minutes Ready in: 2 hrs 15 minutes
Ingredients
200g / 7oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
2 TBSP virgin coconut oil, plus extra for greasing
200g / 7 oz Digestive biscuits (or Rich Tea, Oreos or gluten free cookies)
75g / 2½ oz veggie marshmallows (e.g. Freedom Mallows)
Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Grease and line a freezer-safe container about 12cm x 22cm (5 inches x 8½ inches) with baking paper. (I used a large loaf pan, but you could use a plastic, silicone or foil container).
Add a small amount of water to a saucepan and place a heat-proof bowl on top. Break the chocolate into chunks, place it in the bowl along with the coconut oil and gently heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has fully melted.
Meanwhile, place the biscuits (cookies) in a freezer bag. Press out the air and tie the bag shut. Bash with a rolling pin until you have a mixture of crumbs and small pieces.
If your mallows are large, slice them into halves or thirds.
When the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and stir in the biscuits and mallows. Tip into the prepared pan and press down hard with the back of a spoon to remove air pockets.
Place in the freezer for about 2 hours, until solid. Using a sharp knife, slice into rectangles about 4 cm (1½ inches) in size. Add a light dusting of icing sugar for decoration.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, where it will keep for weeks.
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In the UK, Freedom Mallows are available from Holland & Barrett, independent health food shops (including Harvest in Bath) and online.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! xx
Rocky Roads, yummie! Nice to have a recipe that is vegan. I will definitely make these at home one day soon, Thanks so much!
Awww, glad you get to spend quality time with your Lil’L, he got some good skils, hehe! I loved the movie, “How To Train Your Dragon”, dragons are adorable! I want to try these pink marshmallows, they look so good and I bet they are yummy in gooey and sticky rice krispies! Dang, these vegan Rocky Road-style bars look fabulous with the strawberries & veggie marshmallows, save me a piece, please!
I never knew the early years would go so fast :/ I’m dreading the day when he no longer wants to hang out with his ole’ mum sob! If I’m lucky, I might have one last summer, before he goes up to senior school in Sept 2015.
I’m so pleased you like the look of the Rocky Road! Do you get vegan marshmallows in the US? If so, are they any good? Maybe we’ll have to do a vegan mallow swap 😀
Lil L’s got the right idea– these look like some killer rocky road bars!! Mmmmm! I rarely ever eat marshmallows because of the gelatin factor…so it’s so exciting to see products like this, especially if they really do taste like normal mallows. Thanks for the yummy recipe and product introduction. I’ll have to look for these!
Hi Koko! It’s incredible just how similar these taste to regular marshmallows. Even my mum confirmed it (and she’s a marshmallow connoisseur 😉 )
I wonder if US/Canadian brands taste as good? When you’re back home you’ll have to check them out for me and report back xx
I love Rocky Road. Must be a Mountain Bike thing… 🙂 great to see a vegan version that I can bake at home. I think the Rocky Road in the local cafe contains pig… :-/
Ha ha! Actually I bet Rocky Road is good for fuelling MB rides. It’ll definitely give you a sugar rush 😀
Good on you for spending time with him while you still can 🙂
My daughter would LOVE this rocky road – will have to see if our health food shop has some vegan marshmellows!
Hi Sandy! I realised the other day that Lil’ L very rarely has sweets (candy). As a kid, I used to love my weekly visits to the corner shop to spend my pocket money on ‘penny sweets’. So, when the marshmallows arrived in the subscription box, I thought it was a great opportunity to let him create a treat all for himself. I did suggest that he might like to add some nuts & dried fruits into the mix but he accused me of trying to ‘healthify’ his rocky road, so I made a quick retreat 😉
We took the remaining slices to my mum’s this week and she loved it too! Though not my cup of tea, this treat is perfect for those with a sweet tooth 🙂
Yes my daughter doesn’t get too many treats either!
Its hard hey – trying to find a good balance between giving them good food but also not making them feel deprived!
It sounds like you are having a lovely summer 🙂 I do love this brand of marshamllows and your vegan rocky road looks fantastic! The freeze dried strawberries sound like an amazing topping.
Thanks Kari ♥ I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend xx
Fantastic recipe! Glad you’ve been having a good time with your son, too. I love these marshmallows, but they’ve never hung around long enough for me to actually use them in a recipe! Your mentioning Harvest brings back memories for me- about 10 or 11 years ago I had a small catering business in Bath and I used to supply their deli counter with vegan banana cake, pies/ pizzas and 3 kinds of “power ball” (like the Bounce balls you can get nowadays ).
That’s so cool that you used to supply Harvest! Do you know, I don’t think I’ve ever ventured into the Deli side of the shop? I had no idea that they sell cakes, pies and so forth… or maybe they don’t anymore? I’ll have to investigate next time I visit.
Where do you live now? I’ve seen pics of your garden on your blog, and it looks amazing! ♥
This rocky road looks gorgeous. We make ours with dried fruit instead of marshmallows to make them veggie. If I can find some of these mallows I will give it a try with them in.
I did suggest to Lil’ L that he could add nuts and dried fruits into his Rocky Road, but he accused me of trying to ‘healthifying’ his treat lol! I quietly stood back and let him get on with it 😉
If you try these mallows, I’d love to hear what you think of them. You should find them in Holland & Barrett or your local health food store x
What a showstopper Sharon! Like you say, I bet this would be a real hit at a fundraiser. Great to show that you can make (almost) anything vegan!
Aw thanks Emma ♥ I’m gutted that I missed you this week, but hopefully we’ll catch up at VegFest (I’m going on the Sunday).
I hope you’re transition back to London life runs smoothly. It’s exciting that you’re about to start a new life chapter. No doubt it will be one filled with exciting opportunities 😀 I wish you all the best xox
I haven’t tried the marshmallows yet – I think I would prefer vanilla ones, but we’ve got visitors coming soon so I guess they will be a lovely treat then! I adored the Propercorn – so yummy I didn’t share at all lol!
The Rocky Road looks delicious Sharon and I love the pictures of Lil’L helping! I miss digestive biscuits, nothing touches them for this type of dessert and the gluten free varieties are a waste of money – positively yuk!
Sounds like you’ve had a fantastic Summer, I miss those days..
The mallows are too sugary for me (I ate a couple and my heart started racing!) but they’re perfect for Lil’ L as a sweet treat, especially when his scouts group has bonfire & roasted marshmallow events.
It’s incredible how quickly they grow up isn’t it? I’m still in shock that we’ve got to apply for secondary schools next month. The primary years have flown by way too fast!
Ah you beat me, I was honestly going to make Rocky Road vegan style with these very vegan mallows for the nephews and nieces and even a slice for me (may still) for now though I will admire yours – looks fantastic especially with the addition of the freeze dried strawberries.
Definitely do it! The kiddies will love it! 😀