What’s In Rocky Road?
Gooey, fluffy, creamy, crunchy… above all, super chunky and overflowing on the plate! Rocky road might not always be pretty, but nor is life sometimes. Fans of this characterful confectionery treasure love it for exactly what it is: a mind-blowing combination of cleverly textured sweet surprises bathed in a generous amount of really good chocolate. Refrigerate it. Partition it roughly. Consume it gluttonously.
There are multiple theories about how rocky road dessert got its name and reputation. Our preliminary research took us to the U.S.A in the 1920’s, when the rocky road ice-cream recipe was pepped up with walnuts and marshmallows. But we were more curious about what Rocky Road means to us here in the Land Down Under.
Wouldn’t you know it, we found out that Aussie Rocky Road was so much more than just an ice cream recipe turned chocolate bar. It was a scam! A dodgy trick meant to fool the Australian locals into eating spoiled chocolate that had been imported from Europe. The story also goes that rocky road was named after the path that led the diggers to the gold fields during the gold rushes. Candy Bar Sydney can’t guarantee that any of that is actually true, but it certainly makes for a great story. To this day, Australians have a deep appreciation for a good chunk of rocky road. We revere it with an awe not unlike how we’d react to a nugget of gold. Home-made recipes and popular brands over the years have certainly helped pave the path to success for this little piece of chocolate genius.
So what’s in rocky road? The traditional rocky road ice cream recipe called for chocolate ice cream, nuts (usually almonds or walnuts) and marshmallows.
The mother country put its own English spin on the rocky road dessert, combining traditional marshmallows with biscuit pieces, then dusting it lightly with icing sugar. Quaint! In Australia, we go that extra mile. Our traditional rocky road dessert recipe calls for the usual marshmallow pieces and nuts (mostly peanuts), but then it blows your mind by mixing in glace cherries, desiccated coconut and Turkish Delight.
For those of you playing at home, well, the sky is the limit when it comes to DIY rocky road. A recipe for Rocky Road could read as follows: “cram as much awesome texturally diverse deliciousness as you can into a bowl, mix, and smother it with chocolate. Let it set, divvy it up, your work here is done.” The no-bake variety can be made super classy with white chocolate and macadamia nuts, colourful with pistachios and cranberries, or extra crunchy with Clinkers.
If you’re inspired by rocky road, integrate it into your baked goodies: think rocky road cheesecake, rocky road cookies, cupcakes, brownies, even beverages. Hey, you could even colour theme your rocky road to match your wedding!
What’s in Rocky Road?