DNX FOOD Recipes Rocky Road

Rocky Road

Rocky Road post thumbnail image

I love a good Rocky Road. I love the heftiness and endless versatility. Though, unsurprisingly, I have views on what makes a good one! Ratios matter. So here’s my Rocky Road recipe. It’s easy. And it’s oh-so-good.

Stack of Rocky Road

Rocky Road opinions

Rocky Road is about as simple as candy recipes get. Melt chocolate. Stir in add-ins of choice. Marshmallows, raspberries and peanuts are classic. Coconut is my must-have extra.

In other countries around the world (I’m in Australia, BTW!), cookies and dried fruit are common. And I’ve seen glacé cherries instead of raspberries.

No judgement. Rocky Road is a recipe to make your own!

The only firm viewI have is to make sure there is enough add-ins. Rocky Road has heft to it, it’s not a thin, wimpy piece of candy. It’s a thick slab. Nobody wants to bite into an enormous block of plain chocolate. We want to sink our teeth into a delightful medley of textures – soft marshmallow, chewy raspberry, nutty crunch of peanuts.

So don’t skimp on add-ins!!

Making Rocky Road
Rocky road photo

What you need for Rocky Road

Here’s what you need to make my Rocky Road.

Chocolate – EASY OPTION

Use chips or melts for an easy option. Upgrade to block chocolate for premium. I use a combination of dark and milk chocolate to get the best of both worlds: chocolate flavour intensity plus creaminess of milk chocolate!

Rocky Road ingredients
50/50 dark and milk chocolate chips or melts are my easy option that I use most frequently.

Chocolate melts and chips are the easy option because there’s no chopping involved and they are made for easy melting. Equal amounts of both dark (US: semi-sweet) and milk chocolate is my favourite. You get the best of each type of chocolate: good chocolate flavour from the dark chocolate plus the creaminess of milk chocolate.

But feel free to use the combination you want!

PREMIUM CHOCOLATE

If you want to upgrade, for example, if you’re gifting or making to impress, use block chocolate instead. Lindt is my premium pick before moving into couverture (higher grade chocolate used by fine patisseries, chocolatiers etc), for flavour, quality and also it’s shiny because it’s tempered.

Plaistowe is probably the “best” in the baking aisle followed by Cadbury. And a couple of good US brands: Ghirardelli and Baker’s brand.

Best chocolate for Rocky Road

As with the chips, I will typically use a combination of dark and milk chocolate though if using Lindt, I usually stick with just one type. For the sake of purity! 70% for grown ups, milk chocolate for all-rounder crowd pleaser.

If using chocolate block, you’ll need to chop it up before melting. The finer you chop, the easier it melts.

Note: Lindt is not cheap and you need 5 blocks. I stock up when they are steeply discounted. It happens every now and then!

Making Rocky Road

⚠️ Eating vs cooking chocolate

Whatever chocolate you choose, it is safest to source the chocolate from the baking aisle which is made for melting and cooking. Some chocolate from the confectionary aisle (ie for eating) is actually made to prevent it melting easily if, say, it’s sitting in a warm pantry, your car or handbag.. So they will not necessarily melt smoothly. They are also more prone to problems like seizing and burning if you use the microwave rather than a bain-marie (bowl over simmering water).

It’s not the end of the world for Rocky Road because we re-set the chocolate anyway, but it’d be highly risky to use in things like Chocolate Mousse. So if you know of eating chocolate brands that melt perfectly / you’ve nailed the art of melting Cadbury Milk Chocolate blocks, feel free to use it! But just be aware that chocolate from the baking aisle is safer for use in cooking!

The only exception is Lindt. This can be sourced from the chocolate confectionary aisle. It melts 100% perfectly. And did you know Lindt is already tempered so it’s natural shiny? Lindt is special! 🙂

rocky road add-ins

And for the add-ins! Here’s what goes in mine. Classic Aussie Rocky Road – marshmallows, chewy raspberries and peanuts. Plus coconut. Reminiscent of retro Golden Rough (chocolate coconut candy here in Australia). Coconut isn’t always present in Rocky Road, but for me it’s a must!

Rocky Road ingredients

How to make Rocky Road

Hot contender for the world’s easiest candy recipe!

How to make Rocky Road
  1. Melt chocolate in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.

  2. Stir until smooth. (Hot tip – use a chopstick during the initial stirring phases. Easier – and less surface area for chocolate to stick to. Switch to rubber spatula towards the end).

How to make Rocky Road
  1. Stir through add-ins.

  2. Spread in a 20cm/8″ paper lined square pan.

  3. Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight, or days!) until fully firm.

  4. Cut – Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cutting into pieces. I cut into 5 bars, then into smaller pieces if serving to eat, and larger pieces if gifting.

Rocky Road slices
Rocky Road food gift

Tell me your Gold Standard Rocky Road!

Thinking back, I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of the time I make Rocky Road is for gifting. Which is not surprising. Rocky Road is a sizeable piece of candy. There’s no such thing as a small nibble. Even breaking off a “small” hunk is a decent mouthful! Unlike, for example, my current favourite small-form candy to have around the house which allows me to take a small guilt-free nibble when the craving hits. (Never mind that I go back to the jar 10 times a day).

What about you? Is Rocky Road a gifting recipe? For parties? Or are you a committed candy monster who will make this for yourself?

But more importantly – SHARE YOUR GOLD STANDARD ROCKY ROAD add-ins!! I bet you make a killer Rocky Road! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Stack of Rocky Road

Rocky Road

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4.96 from 42 votes
Servings12
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Recipe video above. I love a good Rocky Road. I love the heftiness and endless versatility of add-ins. Though, unsurprisingly, I have views on what makes a good one! Ratios matter. Too much chocolate and not enough add-ins is not good! So here’s my Rocky Road recipe. Super easy. 🙂Use chips or melts for an easy option. Upgrade to Lindt for premium. Excellent food gift. Think – Christmas, birthdays, thank you, get well present.

Ingredients

Chocolate (read Note 1!):

  • 225 – 250g / 8 ozdark chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups)or block, chopped (US: semi-sweet chips)
  • 225 – 250g / 8 ozmilk chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups)or block, chopped (or more dark choc)
  • 2tbspcoconut oil or any plain flavoured oil(prevents cracking, adds bit of sheen, Note 2)

Nagi’s Rocky Road Add-ins (Note 3):

  • 3cupsmarshmallows, pink and white, most cut in half (firmly pack the cups!)
  • 3/4cupraspberry lollies, halved
  • 1/3cupdesiccated coconut(or flakes), unsweetened
  • 1/2cupunsalted peanuts, very roughly chopped (ie almost just halved)

Instructions

  • Line a 20cm/8″ square pan with baking paper (parchment paper).
  • Melt chocolate – Place chocolate and oil in a bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
  • Add-ins – Stir the Add-ins into the chocolate. Pour into pan, spreading out evenly.
  • Refrigerate for 3 hours or until fully cool.
  • Cut – Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cutting. I cut into 5 lines, then into hunks for eating or larger pieces for gifting!

Recipe Notes:

1. Chocolate options – using melts or chips is the easiest. No chop, and made for easy melting! Dark and milk chocolate combo is my favourite. Cadbury bags are 225g hence the amount.Premium upgrade to block: Lindt (best before getting into couverture), Plaistowe, and a couple of good US brands: Ghirardelli and Baker’s brand. 70% cocoa for grown-ups, or 50/50 combo of milk and dark. Finely chop with knife then melt. More info in post!Whatever you choose, it is safest to source the chocolate from the baking aisle which is designed for melting/cooking. Not all chocolate from the confectionary aisle (ie eating chocolate) will melt smoothly or easily, and some are prone to seizing / burning unless using a bain-marie. (Read blue block in post for more info!). But if you have used eating chocolate before and know brands that melt fine, by all means go ahead!2. Oil – insurance policy to prevent cracking when cutting, and adds a bit of shininess to the chocolate.3. These are my classic add-ins. Coconut is essential! Reminiscent of Golden Rough, a retro favourite. But…. you can use whatever you want. 🙂 Biscuits, any other nuts, dried fruit, glace cherries. Add as much as you want as long as there is enough chocolate to coat everything.PS I usually don’t bother cutting the raspberries and marshmallows in half. But when gifting, I do. Just better dispersement.4. Keeps for weeks and weeks! Refrigerate if hot where you are.Nutrition per serving, assuming 12 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 387cal (19%)Carbohydrates: 47g (16%)Protein: 4g (8%)Fat: 21g (32%)Saturated Fat: 12g (75%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 2mg (1%)Sodium: 20mg (1%)Potassium: 265mg (8%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 34g (38%)Vitamin A: 19IUVitamin C: 0.04mgCalcium: 28mg (3%)Iron: 3mg (17%)

Life of Dozer

Back to the vet for another check up with ongoing tummy issues. 😢 Clearly he’s gotten into something he shouldn’t have – again! It’s been over a week now, so I’m a little worried so I took him to the vet again. He’s had various blood tests and all have come back clear.

Here he is, wondering if the bandage is edible (the bandage was for the blood test patch).

For now he’s on a strict gastro-intestinal dog food diet. No treats, no taste testing, not even a drizzle of canned fish juices to make the dry food more interesting.

He’s so unimpressed with this new diet! Hopefully it won’t be for too long and he’ll bounce back to his normal self.

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