Christmas Wonderland Rocky Road

Several moons ago in my life, I used to work as a General Manager of an upmarket shoe store in Sydney that  had 5 store branches, including the Bruno Magli store in Chifley Tower, and each day I would travel to each one to see how things were going. If there's anything that will cure you of an addition, it's working in a store that sells the temptation in question. When I started working there I had over 120 pairs of shoes. People called me Imelda and I answered. I thought nothing of buying the same shoe in every shade.

Now I'd say in the several years that have ensued I am up to about 135 pairs (15 shoes over several years is pretty good) and mostly wear ballet flats and thongs in summer. So whilst the job was hard, it did cure me of my shoe obsession. I recall reading about a supermodel who did the same in high school and worked at a donut shop-she said that she never wanted to see a donut again so that's my next challenge I suppose, working in a pastry and cake shop.

The stores that I looked forward to visiting most were the Chifley Tower store as it was quieter and they had good sushi upstairs and the Double Bay store because of the pastries and sweets nearby. I didn't know the name of the shop that sold this upmarket version of Rocky Road as the store manager would purchase it, but I remember thinking that it was the best Rocky Road I had ever tasted with marshmallows, macadamias, shredded coconut and Turkish Delight chunks ensconced within the white chocolate.

The store manager is gone, as is the store itself, so I have no-one to ask. So what choice do I have but to try and recreate it at home? And what better time that to do it than at Christmas as a gift. I usually beg off making Christmas gifts but the time was right, I had most of the ingredients to hand and people seemed to expect me to make them something to eat for Christmas. I did a bit of guestimating along with plenty of sampling and what I ended up with was in my humble opinion better than the stuff I was thinking of.

And if you've never tried Turkish Delight in Rocky Road, you simply must do so, it's toothsomely luscious. The Rocky Road is richer than rich so a little goes a long way which is never bad when eating chocolate. I always feel that small amount of chocolate is better for you than gorging on lots of really bad chocolate and the fact that this is chock full with other things means that you can only have a small slice. Which is a good thing you do see. However you may notice that I'm conveniently omitting how moreish it is...

Luxurious Rocky Road

An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella

Makes 20 pieces

• 500g white chocolate (or milk or dark if you like)

• 175g honey coated macadamias (if not available, just substitute this quantity with regular macadamias)

• 1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

• 250g Turkish Delight cut into thirds or quarters depending on size

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• 1/2 cup of dried cranberries

Step 1 - Line a 21x21cms square cake tin with foil.

Step 2 - Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in a large bowl until melted.

Step 3 - Stir in the rest of the ingredients until combined and spoon into foil lined tin.

Step 4 - Refrigerate until firm and when set cut into slices using a large, sharp knife.