Toasted walnuts, gooey marshmallows and lots of chocolate… I think I died and went to Heaven! The warm chocolate melted the marshmallows looked — and TASTED — better than I could’ve ever imagined.
BTW: don’t even bother making this cake if you don’t plan on toasting the walnuts it makes a MASSIVE difference! Enjoy.
How To Make A Rocky Road Cake
- For the cake; preheat the oven to 350 degrees then butter and flour three 6” pans. In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, sour cream, coffee and vanilla paste and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Give it a whisk and set that aside as well.
- Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, until it is light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Now beat in the flour mixture and buttermilk in three alternating batches.
- Mix just until it’s almost combined, use a spatula to scrape the bottom, then complete the mixing. Divide the batter between the pans, smooth the tops and bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack.
- For the buttercream; cream the room temperature butter then add the salt. I use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment but a hand mixer works fine too.
- Add the cocoa powder and mix until it’s incorporated. Sifting will help prevent lumps and improve consistency. Now scrape the bowl down and mix until homogenous.
- Add the confectioners sugar in batches and mix until nice and creamy then pour in the melted chocolate. If it is a bit thick, you can add cream a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached then add the vanilla.
- For the Ganache; scald the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it just to a boil the pour it over the semisweet chocolate. Let it sit for a couple minutes then whisk until it’s nice and smooth.
- Reserve about 2/3 cup of the ganache for the drip. Add the walnuts and marshmallows to the chocolate once it has cooled down and give it a mix to make sure everything is well incorporated.
- To assemble this cake; Pipe a ring of buttercream around the top edge of the first layer. Use a spatula to fill the center with the ganache. Place on the next layer and repeat until the last, then cover the outside with buttercream and smooth it out.
- Drizzle the ganache on top of the cake. If it’s thickened, then you can mix in a bit more cream and zap it in the microwave for a few seconds at 50% power.
- Pile the extra rocky road mixture on top of the cake and then press in a few extra marshmallows and walnuts for a nicer look, then a light drizzle of chocolate as the final touch.
A ring of buttercream helps hold the gooey filling in, which is great it you want to give a smooth finish to the exterior. If a messy cake doesn’t bother you as much you could skip the buttercream altogether and just double the rocky road filling. The finished cake would kind of resemble my German Chocolate Cake.
Why do People Put Coffee in Chocolate Cake?
Coffee brings out and amplifies the chocolate flavor in baked goods like cake and cupcakes. Add ing a little bit will make things taste more “chocolatey” without giving a coffee flavor. Adding a LOT of coffee will create a mocha flavor. If you would like to omit the coffee from this recipe just substitute for warm water or milk. I’ve done this and the cake still tastes great! Just a little toned down in my opinion.
Pro Tips For Making this rocky road cake
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
- Sub warm water for the coffee if you’re not a fan.
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this rocky road cake then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Rocky Road Cake
The best rocky road cake you could imagine! Chocolate covered marshmallows and nuts fill and top this decadent and moist chocolate cake.
Servings 10 people
Calories 516kcal
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour 210g
- 1 tsp baking soda 6g
- 1/2 tsp baking powder 2g
- 13 tbsp butter 185g
- 1/2 cup brown sugar 100g
- 1/2 cup white sugar 100g
- 3 tbsp coffee 45mL
- 1 tbsp vanilla paste 15mL
- 2/3 cup buttermilk 158mL
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sour cream 118mL
- 1 cup cocoa 100g
For the Ganache:
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 350g
- 1 1/2 cup cream 355mL
- 1 cup walnuts 125g, toasted
- 1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows 75g
For the Buttercream:
- 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate 115g, melted and cooled
- 1/3 cup hazelnut chocolate melted and cooled 60g
- 1/3 cup cocoa 35g
- 1 lb unsalted butter 454g, room temp
- 4 cups sugar 800g
- 1/4 tsp salt 1g, heaping
- 1 tsp vanilla 5mL
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour three 6-by-2-inch cake pans.
- In a small bowl mix together the buttermilk, sour cream coffee and vanilla paste.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a the bowl of a standing mixer beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in flour mixture and buttermilk in three alternating batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Mix just until almost combined. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and complete the mixing.
- Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in pans 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
For the Buttercream
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and melted chocolate. If buttercream is a bit thick you can add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream.
For the Ganache
- Scald the cream in a small saucepan over medium. Bring it just to a boil then pour over the semisweet chocolate. Let sit for two minutes then whisk until smooth. Reserve about 2/3 a cup of the ganache for the drip. Mix in the walnuts and fold in the marshmallows once cool.
To Assemble
- Pipe a ring of buttercream around the top edge of the first layer. Use a spatula to fill the center with the ganache. Place the next layer on top and repeat. Cover the outside with buttercream and smooth.
- Drizzle the ganache on top of the cake. If it's thickened then you can mixx in a bit more cream and zap in the microwave for a few seconds at 50% power.
- Pile the extra rocky road mixture on top of the cake and then press in a few extra marshmallows and walnuts and give a final light drizzle of chocolate.
Video
Notes
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
- Sub warm water for the coffee if you're not a fan.
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece | Calories: 516kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 97g | Saturated Fat: 55g | Cholesterol: 169mg | Sodium: 193mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 125g | Vitamin A: 2340IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 5.5mg
*Nutrition Disclaimer
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I made this for a family birthday and it was a huge hit! I live at a higher elevation so I had to use slightly less (1/8 tsp) baking powder and bump the oven temperature up 25 degrees but I tried to be as true to recipe as I could. I will say that it was a little confusing to follow at times just because of the order the ingredients were written.