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.
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 view I 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!!
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!
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.
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!
⚠️ 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!
How to make Rocky Road
Hot contender for the world’s easiest candy recipe!
Melt chocolate in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.
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).
Stir through add-ins.
Spread in a 20cm/8″ paper lined square pan.
Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight, or days!) until fully firm.
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.
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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Rocky Road
Ingredients
Chocolate (read Note 1!):
- 225 – 250g / 8 oz dark chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups) or block, chopped (US: semi-sweet chips)
- 225 – 250g / 8 oz milk chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups) or block, chopped (or more dark choc)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or any plain flavoured oil (prevents cracking, adds bit of sheen, Note 2)
Nagi’s Rocky Road Add-ins (Note 3):
- 3 cups marshmallows, pink and white , most cut in half (firmly pack the cups!)
- 3/4 cup raspberry lollies , halved
- 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (or flakes), unsweetened
- 1/2 cup unsalted 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:
Nutrition Information:
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.
My new go-to for gifts – everyone loves it. Thanks a million Nagi xx
The best Rocky Road I have tasted! (use Lindt!)
Absolutely love this recipe! My partner doesn’t like Rocky Road but I think he’s eaten more than me!
I made this for my husband AND my dad for Fathers Day and they both said it was the best rocky road they have tasted. I removed the coconut and added broken up Digestive biscuits and it was PERFECT! Thank you.
I am excited to try it!
We don’t have raspberry lollies in the US.
I thought they were either chopped-up lollipops (hard candy) or dried raspberries. GOOGLE brought me to Allen’s brand, which looked just like Deb’s description of raspberry-shaped gummies.
After googling them, I think they are just gummy candies. So use whatever you want, like chopped gummy worms 😉
I made this and it was as good as Haighs!!
Thank you!
I add Clinkers to ours – cut into 3 so no-one breaks their teeth!
Thank you everyone. Well, being in the US I did some searching and basically came up with raspberry/blackberry gummies. Even Jelly Belly has them. But, I’m thinking a gumdrop may be a better choice, if they come in raspberry!
Try glazed cherries. You might call them candied cherries. Delicious!
Dammit Nagi, I used to hate Rocky Road due to the goddamn awful cherries. You had to go and muck it up by changing to raspberries didn’t you… Bloody Genius! Now I can’t stop eating the damn stuff! My hips dislike you right now! 😂
What is a raspberry Lolly please? I’m in the US. Search comes up with popsicles and lollipops!
A lolly in this part of the world would be candy (or sweets) in the US. I think you have a candy called a raspberry Twizzler? That might work if it’s soft? You want something that’s jelly/jube like.
Hi Nagi Sadly (for me!) kids not allowed nuts in school! I know it won’t taste as good but do you have any substitute for peanuts?? Thank you!!
Just leave the nuts out. I am anaphylactic to peanuts and it still tastes delicious without them
Haigh’s chocolate shop in Australia put me almonds rather than peanuts in their rocky road and it’s just as good.
This was delicious! We didn’t have raspberry jellies so just made with marshmallows, coconut and peanuts. Thanks so much! I hope Dozer is ok
Love the Rocky Road! I find the Choceur range os chocolates from Aldi not too far away from Lindt but less expensive and they melt well. Worth a try.
I am a big fan of yours and have successfully tried many of your recipes, also have your book 😍
Think I will substitute Turkish delight for raspberries
OMG!!! This is the best Rocky Road I have ever eaten and I wish I’d made 10x the amount as it evaporated into thin air (or my fat arse, LOL!). Next time I will add in some roughly chopped Scotch Finger as well, as a friend puts it in hers and it is a winner as well! Thank you as always! x Cat
Here’s another twist: substitute peanut butter for the coconut oil.
You’re welcome. 😉
I love your recipes and rely on them/you for all my ‘what shall I cook next’ moments, but I just feel like I have to add – Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate blocks melt so easily and work awesomely for rocky road… even if you use 50/50 dark chocolate and milk chocolate, I’ve never had it go lumpy yet
Hi Nagi, will definitely have to try your recipe, Huge, huge fan!! I have been making Rocky Road for gifts for teachers and friends and everyone always loves Fran’s Rocky Road and wants the recipe. I have been lucky enough with Cadbury dairy milk chocolate, touch wood. I cut up 1 packet of Natural Company snakes and 1 packet of Allen’s snakes with scissors and then cut up 1 packet of marshmallows into 4. I cut the marshmallow after the snakes as the scissors get pretty sticky after cutting up the marshmallows. I then break up 2 blocks of Cadbury dairy milk into single pieces and melt it in the microwave on low for 30-second increments till just melted. Once melted, pour over cut-up snakes and marshmallows, mix, spoon onto a tray and cool in fridge. I cut it into different size pieces so if I want a 4th or 5th piece I don’t feel so bad if it’s only a small one,
Hi Charmi! I’m glad you haven’t had problems with it, I suspect you have got it down 🙂 In all honesty, I’ve had problems in the past,. What I find is that if the chocolate is a bit old or has that white stuff on it, or if you use the wrong microwave heat level, don’t stir often enough etc etc it is susceptible to burning before melting evenly, or lumps etc. I’ve done a lot of testing over the years around this!! I find that yes eating chocolate CAN melt fine but people CAN be tripped up a bit more because they aren’t made for melting. If that makes sense. I’ve experienced more bowls of seized up eating chocolate in attempts to melt it more than I’d like to confess!!! 🙂 Nxx
It’s been so hot here in the UK this week you could stir in the Cadbury dairy milk directly out of your cupboard. 😉
Just made this. I think in future I will omit the gummy candy. I am storing it in the fridge to keep the chocolate from melting, and the gummy just gets unpleasantly hard. The chocolate with marshmallows, coconut, and nuts is sweet enough, in my opinion.
LOVING all the opinions and passionate views on your gold standard rocky road!!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing everyone, I’ve got some great ideas for my next one. – N x