Rocky Road Ice Cream
36 comments » 
Rocky road ice cream, well, rocks. I fell in love with it last year after my slew of allergy problems were finally behind me. My Chief Culinary Consultant lives, literally, across the street from Marble Slab, which can be both awesome and dangerous. Our ice cream cravings know no time or season. We’ve bolted across the street in 15-degree weather during halftime of football playoff games (I think it was Steelers vs. San Diego, actually). We’ve also run across the street in 90-degree weather, trying to make it back before half of the ice cream melted. Middle of the afternoon or 10:30 at night, whenever the urge strikes, Marble Slab it is! And rocky road is our favorite variety. While classic rocky road is typically made with almonds, Marble Slab makes theirs with walnuts (and adds chocolate chips), so that is what I have grown to love. I’m astonished that it has taken me this long to recreate it at home!
This base of this recipe is the amazing, life-changing, best-ever chocolate ice cream. It’s seriously the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had. It’s rich, smooth, and has an intense chocolate flavor that will leave you with an empty bowl and craving more. It’s prepared and churned in the typical way, and then you stir in the marshmallows, walnuts and chocolate chips at the end. Now, we usually enjoy our rocky road in waffle bowls with the tops dipped in chocolate and coated with chopped peanuts. I dropped the ball and didn’t make those, but I guarantee that this recipe will knock your socks off, no matter what you choose to eat it out of!
Don’t forget! If you’re dying to make homemade ice cream and cursing yourself for not having an ice cream maker, head straight to this tutorial on how to make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker!
One year ago: Italian Supreme Calzones
Rocky Road Ice Cream
Yield: About 1 quart
Prep Time: 25 minutes (active), 8 hours (inactive)
Cook Time: 15 minutes (churn time)
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup walnuts
½ cup chocolate chipsDirections:
1. Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.
2. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (and reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.) Once the ice cream has finished churning, fold in the marshmallows, walnuts and chocolate chips.
(Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop
by David Lebovitz)
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This ice cream looks amazing! Can’t wait to break out my ice cream maker and start making some from scratch!
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This sounds so delicious and I was just lamenting that I hadn’t used the old ice cream maker for over a year!
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Must… get… ice cream maker.
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Ahhh, Rocky Road Ice Cream…I love love love this flavor!! I printed this recipe for this summer (assuming that seattle has a summer…it is freezing).
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YUMMY. One of these days I need to get an ice cream maker so I can make this!
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That’s neighborly love. =)
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Now you’ve done it, Michelle! I am simply going to have to make this and I can guarantee it will be gone in one evening.
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This looks so delicious. Just what I need to beat the heat that is on it’s way this weekend. I’ll have 2 scoops pleeease
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This would be perfect on a day like today! It’s so hot out!!
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I would love to devour a bowl of this right now!
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You can’t go wrong with a GIANT bowl of Rocky Road ice cream….especially home made! xo
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This looks fantastic! There is nothing quite like homemade ice cream…especially rocky road
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This looks spectacular!! I love Rocky Road & I too have an ice cream maker that is collecting dust. It just may be time to bust it out!!!
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Oh wow! Your rocky road looks perfect!!!!
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chasingjamesbeard.com
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I’ve got to get an ice cream maker. I love all your ice cream recipes
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I really wish I had an ice cream maker. I love rocky road so much, your addition of the chocolate chips sounds great.
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I haven’t had Rocky Road ice cream in forever. This is a must do. It does look really yummy!
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Just finished making milk chocolate ice cream with caramel swirls. Rocky road is one my absolute favorites and yours looks amazing!!! Great photo!!
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I made this today. I just couldn’t resist. I’ve made the chocolate before and then I made the chocolate and added a cup of organic peanut butter when melting in the chocolate. I also tried the tin roof sundae. The chocolate peanut butter one is my family’s favorite but this may top it.
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wow, it’s 7am and I’m already drooling over this!
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Sounds like the most lovely icecream I’ve seen in a while! Stunning flavors..Mmm!
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Oh Lord girl, this is just wrong! How am I gonna control myself from consuming the entire batch once I make it?
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How perfect this is…always my fav as a child:)
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Looks too good, i would like to have the bowl of ice cream all by myself.
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7:34 am…already craving ice cream. This isn’t going to end well for swimsuit, I can tell.
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Ahh what could be better on such a day??
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Rocky Road has always been one of my favorite Ice Cream flavors. So delicious!
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Rocky road is one of my favorite flavors, but I haven’t made it at home yet. Now I’ll have to give it a try. Yours looks great!
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Rocky road ice cream has been a family favorite ever since I was a kid. As much as I’ve been making ice cream and frozen treats lately, I can’t believe I haven’t made rocky road ice cream yet! That’s all changing next week, thanks to this recipe.
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omg this looks amazinggg! definitely going to try this recipe
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Just finished making milk chocolate ice cream with caramel swirls. Rocky road is one my absolute favorites and yours looks amazing!!! Great photo!!
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That looks fantastic! I am surprised there is no coconut or glace cherries in there though! Maybe the Australian Rocky Road is a bit different.
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my all time favorite flavor. yum!
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This is the 2nd recipe we made with our new ice cream maker, after baseline vanilla bean. Wow, did this kick plain-ole-vanilla’s butt! Thank you so much for the recipe. It’s the best rocky road I’ve ever had!
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This was nothing short of amazing.
I used dark cocoa instead and it gave the ice cream this unbelievable earthiness and gravitas.
Don’t skip or deviate from any of the steps!!!!
Best rocky road I’ve ever had.
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I made this ice cream last night. Oh my is it good. I love the creaminess of it and the deep chocolate flavor is fabulous. Thanks for sharing.
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