Rocky Road Cake
I couldn't wait another day to share this cake! I'm so happy with how it turned out.
I actually made this cake on a whim. Ryan and I were down in Provo for the BYU basketball game, and per usual, we stopped by Rockwell Ice Cream on our way home. I was digging into Rockwell's Rockwell Road and S'more's ice cream when I had the thought that Rocky Road would be an awesome cake flavor. The next day I started making this cake.
Rockwell uses homemade toffee instead of peanuts in their ice cream, so I decided to blend their version with the traditional rocky road ingredients and use both peanuts and toffee bits.
If you've ever had rocky road fudge, that's basically what the filling of this cake tastes like. It's rich, but because it's paired with a light, whipped chocolate frosting, it doesn't feel too overwhelming and I don't think you'll have a problem finishing an entire slice. I also love the salty, sweet crunch the peanuts and toffee add.
Enjoy!
Rocky Road Cake
Yield: one three layer, 8-inch cake
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups, minus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 3/4 cups good cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup buttermilk, shaken 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3 large eggs, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup hot coffee or hot water
For the Rocky Road Filling
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup toffee bits
For the Chocolate Frosting
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
10 oz. good quality chocolate of your choice (I use dark or semi), melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
For the Chocolate Drip
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, then spray the pans again.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, coffee or water and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 16-18 minutes.
6. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
7. Level your cake layers to ensure a completely even surface for frosting and stacking. After leveling you can wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.
For the Rocky Road Filling
1. Heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl for about one to two minutes. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl. Let sit for about five minutes.
2. Stir the chocolate and cream until nice and smooth. Add the marshmallows, peanuts and toffee bits and stir until combined.
3. Let the filling cool completely before using.
For the Chocolate Frosting
1. In a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about two minutes. 2. Slowly add the melted, cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds.
3. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until combined.
4. Add the vanilla, salt and heavy cream. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the frosting for another 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Before frosting your cake, use a wooden spoon to hand mix the frosting to push out air bubbles.
For the Chocolate Drip
1. Heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl for about one minute. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl. Let sit for about five minutes.
2. Stir the chocolate and cream until nice and smooth. Let cool before using on the cake.
Assembly
1. Place the first cake layer on a cake board or cake plate.
2. Pipe a rim of frosting around the cake layer before adding the filling. This creates a nice barrier so the filling stays in place.
3. Spread half of the filling within the frosting barrier.
4. Place the second cake layer on top and repeat steps 2 and 3.
5. Place your final cake layer, bottom side up, on top of the cake. Crumb coat your cake with a light coat of frosting. Freeze for about 10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
6. Continue to frost the cake with the remainder of the chocolate frosting, saving about one cup of frosting for piping.
7. At this point, I like to freeze the cake for another 10 minutes before I do the drip. After you do the drip, use extra extra frosting, peanuts, toffee and marshmallows to decorate the cake.