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Rocky Road Ice Cream – A rich, smooth chocolaty bowl of deliciousness blended with fluffy mini-marshmallows and chopped roasted almonds. A great treat with terrific textures and flavor.
This Rocky Road Ice Cream recipe first appeared on RecipeGirl where I’m a contributor and occasionally post delicious desserts! Â
It’s said that the combination of rich chocolate ice cream, marshmallows and nuts was first invented in the late 1920’s then named Rocky Road during the Great Depression. Â There have been many variations over the last 80+ years, some with chocolate chunks, others with walnuts. Â However, the most popular combination by far seems to include the basics: almonds and marshmallows mixed in chocolate ice cream. Â The amount of marshmallows and almonds also varies greatly from brand to brand, but when making homemade you can adjust those add-in’s to suit your taste.
Personally I can’t even think about Rocky Road Ice Cream without remembering a scene from the iconic 1985 movie “The Goonies.”
One of the characters named ‘Sloth’ offers Rocky Road Ice Cream to a young boy named ‘Chunk.’ Â The two bond over their love of ice cream and go on to save the day! Â If you haven’t seen this fun, adventurous movie directed by Steven Spielberg, go rent it today!
My husband, and chief culinary consultant, declared this the best ice cream he’s ever had.
I was certainly surprised especially since he’s not a “chocolate lover” like me. Â His favorite way to enjoy a bowl of our Rocky Road Ice Cream is with a crumbled up cone mixed in. Â Over the top fantastic indeed!
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Rocky Road Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- dash of sea salt
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ to 2 cups miniature marshmallows to taste
- 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped whole roasted almonds
Instructions
- Place a large bowl in your sink and fill it about half full with ice. Place a slightly smaller stainless-steel or glass bowl inside the bowl with the ice bath. Add the heavy cream to the inside bowl. Set a fine mesh strainer on top of the bowl.
- In a medium saucepan whisk together the milk, ¾ cup of the sugar, a dash of salt and the cocoa powder. Heat on medium until the mixture reaches 185°F on an instant-read thermometer. Once you reach 185°F, continue to cook the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, but do not boil.
- Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate has melted. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup sugar until slightly thick and foamy. Temper the eggs by drizzling a small amount of the hot chocolate mixture to the eggs, while whisking constantly. Continue whisking and adding more hot chocolate mixture to the eggs until all is combined. Return the chocolate and egg custard to the saucepan.
- Place the mixture on the stove top over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir the custard constantly until it again reaches 185°F on the instant-read thermometer (or when it coats the back of the wooden spoon). Do not allow the mixture to boil.
- Remove from the heat and pour the hot chocolate custard through the fine mesh strainer/sieve into the bowl with the cold heavy cream. Add the vanilla extract and stir until completely blended.
- Cool the mixture by stirring every 5 minutes or so while over the ice bath. After about 30 minutes, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
- Process according to your ice cream maker instructions.
- Once processed, spoon about ¼ of the chocolate ice cream into a storage container and sprinkle with ⅓ of the nuts and marshmallows. Repeat two more times by layering the ice cream, then the nuts and marshmallows, ending with the last of the ice cream. Freeze in a sealed container until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
- You will need an ice cream maker, a fine mesh sieve/strainer, and an instant-read thermometer to make this ice cream.
Nutrition
 Here’s a link to our favorite ice cream maker used to create this frozen treat (photo is clickable):
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Summer seems to be sharing those last few dog-days of heat and humidity here in Virginia.  Some days we get a peek of fall weather with blue, blue skies and a light cool breeze, and other days it’s just hot and muggy.  But no matter what the temperature, ice cream is always a good choice for a deliciously creamy dessert!  I recently shared this tasty Rum Raisin Ice Cream so if you’re a fan, this is the recipe for you!  Another favorite is our Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream – so crazy good.  I keep thinking about this beautiful Key Lime Pie Ice Cream from Lori at RecipeGirl – such a perfect summer dessert.  And finally, I’m putting this No-Churn Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream from my friend Jennifer at Seasons & Suppers on my list of must-make recipes this fall.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
2 sisters recipes
Another great flavor from you Tricia! I have to add this one to my list of recipes to try as well! thanks for another great ice cream recipe! Have a great weekend!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Anna – hope you had a great week!
Leslie
This recipe is amazing! Rich chocolate flavor and so creamy. We’ll be making this many times to come.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Leslie! Nothing like homemade ice cream 🙂
John/Kitchen Riffs
Haven’t seen that movie — I should check it out. But then, I need to check out most movies from the 80’s and 90’s — I was working ALL THE TIME back then, and missed a lot. Anyway, love homemade ice cream, and rocky road is a great flavor — thanks.
Tricia Buice
Thanks John – this is a tasty treat. Hope you’ll watch the movie some time – very cute.
Susan
I think I could eat that whole bowl 😉 What a creamy and luscious flavor!
Tricia Buice
I don’t know if I’ve ever met an ice cream I didn’t like 🙂 Thank you Susan – have a lovely week!
Larry
Your ice cream always looks so good.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Larry – I could say the same about your eggs 🙂
Karly
Summer may be almost over, but my ice cream cravings are faaar from it. This stuff looks amazing!
Tricia Buice
I’m with you Karly! Thanks for stopping by!
Liz
This was my dad’s favorite ice cream. I wish I could make him a batch—but maybe I’ll just eat a batch in his memory. Yours looks divine!
Tricia Buice
My father has been gone a very long time, but I wish I could have made this for him, and you for yours. It is pretty tasty for sure. Enjoy!
Wendy
This ice cream looks dreamy! As I was reading your post, I wondered how to replace the crunch if I left out the almonds. Your husband’s crumbled ice cream cone is the perfect solution! I can have nut-free Rocky Road with ice cream cone crunch! 🙂
Tricia Buice
There you go Wendy! The cone really adds a delicious crunch with just the right texture. Hope you’ll give it a try!
cheri
Rocky road has always been a favorite in my family, love ice cream and candy with lots of flavors and textures, like the fact that I can make my own and add as many nuts and marshmallows as I want. Beautiful pics! Interesting history behind rocky road, sounds like the great depression created some impressive creations back then, love back stories like this.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Cheri – I love the history of recipes too – whether it be through a family or chef creation, it’s all interesting.
Pam
Your ice cream looks delicious, Tricia! It’s my favorite kind! I have the ice cream maker above and know how well it works. And I’ve haven’t made ice cream yet this summer, so now it’s time to get busy and make some ice cream! Thanks for the recipe and have a great week!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Pam – hope you’ll give it a try! So yummy 🙂
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
This is my Dad’s favorite, I can’t wait to make it for him! Beautiful shots, Tricia 🙂
Tricia Buice
I think men of our father’s generation all love this ice cream. It must represent an indulgence that was rare during the difficult years. Thanks Sue!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Lovely ice cream! The texture is perfect and of course, those rocky road flavours are always a winner 🙂 Need to make this soon.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Jennifer! It is creamy, rich and totally satisfying 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
It looks so very creamy! I still haven’t had any ice cream this year..the weather here is just not hot enough for me to enjoy ice treats.
Tricia Buice
Sorry to hear that Angie 🙂 Summer is almost over. Feels like fall here in Virginia. Have a great week and thanks!
Chris Scheuer
My whole family would go crazy over this gorgeous ice cream. It looks so rich and creamy. We all scream for ice cream!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Chris – we love it and especially the chocolate base. Very good!
Monica
I love that you’re bringing us one more ice cream recipe before summer is gone. And this takes me back! When I was a teenager, my sister and I would occasionally make plans to cook a huge pot of spaghetti and buy a carton of Dolly Madison rocky road to share together for lunch. We would demolish about the whole carton in one sitting. I loved that ice cream so much! : ) I think it was mainly the chocolate and almonds but it was just a fave. Those were the days! This looks perfect, Tricia.
Tricia Buice
I’m a year-round ice cream lover Monica 🙂 And I love this food memory with your sister. How fun! This chocolate ice cream is great all my itself too – just in case you don’t love the marshmallows. Have a terrific week and thanks!