Nana's Rocky Melon Slice

Here's another installment of my baking tribute to my Mum & Nana.  I bet you were  intrigued as to what Rocky Melon slice is.... It's one of my Nana's favourites & it's a slice that has a crunchy, chocolaty base, topped with marshmallow & finished with a sprinkle of coconut.  Delightful!  

This is super easy to make & it's been nice making something a bit different.  The crunch in the base is thanks to a couple of ground up Weet-Bix cereal (also known as Weetabix in other parts of the world) It's a slice that would be perfect for a children's party as I'm pretty sure children & adults alike will enjoy this!  

I always love making my Nana's recipes because I can trust that the finished outcome will be a good one.  I'll often text my Nan if I have any questions along the way which is really cool.  Sharing a love of baking with my Mum & Nana is a bit like being part of a club (a very exclusive one at that - only 3 members!).  

Anyway, I really hope you will try making this... you can always email me if you have any questions.  You can be an honorary member of our club :)

Ingredients for the base   

2 1/2 Weet-Bix finely crushed

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup dessicated coconut

1 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 ounces melted butter

Ingredients for the marshmallow topping

2 dessertspoons of gelatin

1 cup boiling water

2 cups sugar

Extra desiccated coconut for sprinkling over the top

What to do

1. Heat your oven to 180C.  Prepare a suitably sized tin for making a slice by spraying it really well with cooking spray (you could use a sponge roll tin or the size tin that I used was 27cm x 18cm & had a depth of 4cm).  
2. In a bowl large enough to fit all the ingredients for the base, crush up the Weet-Bix with your fingers until it's as fine as you can get it.  Add the rest of the dry ingredients & give everything a stir to combine.
3. Melt the butter & then add to the dry ingredients.  You'll need every last bit of butter so be sure to use a spatula to get it all.  Mix well until everything is combined.
4. Place mixture into your tin & then using the back of a spoon, spread it out & then press it all down so it's compacted & even.  Place in the oven for 20 mins.
5. Remove from the oven & allow to cool in the tin completely.  Once the base is cool, it's time to make the marshmallow topping.
6. In the bowl of a free standing electric mixer (or in a large stainless steel bowl if you are using a hand held electric mixer) dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water.  You may have the odd lump of undissolved gelatin.  Either squish it against the sides of the bowl to thin it out & dissolve it or fish it out with a spoon.  Either way you don't want any gelatin lumps getting into your marshmallow.  
7. Once all the gelatin is dissolved, quickly add the sugar & then beat on a medium-high speed (using the whisk attachment) until the mixture turns VERY thick & marshmallowy.  This will take around 15-18 mins (so good luck if you are using a hand held electric mixer to do this! You'll deserve a big pat on the back at the end!).        
8. You can leave the marshmallow white or you can colour it with food colouring.  If you do decide to colour it, add in a little food colouring once the mixture has turned white so you can monitor the depth of colour & then continue beating it until you reach the desired consistency above.
9. Pour the marshmallow evenly over the base & then sprinkle with a little coconut.  Leave to set for several hours at room temperature before cutting into slices.  TIP: Use a sharp knife to score around the edges of the marshmallow topping & then use the knife to leverage the slice out of the tin.  To make your life easier when it comes to cutting the slice into pieces, wet a large knife with warm water after each cut to prevent the knife from sticking to the marshmallow.  Store in a tin or airtight container.

I had some left-over marshmallow which would have been a shame to waste, so I quickly greased some mini cupcake pans, spooned the marshmallow into a piping bag, sniped off the end & then piped the marshmallow into each hole.  These wee marshmallows will make nice treats on their own as I've coated them in coconut or you could leave them plain so you can float them in some hot chocolate!

This slice would be lovely to have in the tins at Christmas if you stick with a white marshmallow.  Once sprinkled with coconut I think it'll look very festive indeed!

Enjoy! x