Rocky Road Bark | Vegan Chocolate Treat

One of our favorite holiday traditions is “raiding the fridge while no-one is looking!“ Hey – don’t give us that look – we know you do it too! Anyway, our motivation is the big pile of Rocky Road bark hiding in there. Of course, a lot of Rocky Road recipes use milk chocolate. So we’ve adapted our favorite recipe into a vegan chocolate treat.

Interesting Origins

Rocky road – as a type of candy, not ice cream – was invented in Australia in 1853. Back then, businessmen would import sweets from Europe. However, the candy didn’t always arrive in good condition. Yet, instead of losing money, these clever folks came up with a solution! They mixed all the bad candy with cheap chocolate to disguise it. Then the mixture was set into a sheet, cut into squares, and called “Rocky Road”! Yay capitalism!

However, this is definitely NOT the case anymore. In fact, creating the best Rocky Road is a source of pride and fierce competition! Of course, we couldn’t be outdone on this! So we grabbed our favorite vegan chocolate and marshmallows, selected some scrumptious ingredients and got mixing.

Rocky Road & Roll

When you’re planning, you can think of a Rocky Road recipe in terms of food groups!

• Chocolate
• Marshmallow
• Sweet stuff (candied fruit, gummies, etc.)
• Nuts

I haven’t seen the USDA food pyramid in a while, but I think that’s pretty close …

Anyway, you can play around within these groups to your heart’s content. Do you want vegan chocolate? No problem! Plant-based marshmallows? Easy! For sweetness, we added candied strawberries. Alternatively, our other favorites include candied ginger, Turkish delight, and glacé cherries. In terms of nuts, just add your favorites. The only limit is your imagination! Rocky Road is a recipe that really shines with some personalization.

How to Treat your Chocolate

Now, before your road can be rocky, you’ve gotta get smoooooth. Smooth chocolate, that is. Melting the vegan chocolate is the only thing even close to tricky in this recipe. To begin with, get a good amount of water boiling in a small pot. Then, place your chocolate into a heatproof bowl or boiler insert. Next, drop your chocolate in and stir gently as it melts. This method makes sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.

Now you’re ready to fold in those fluffy marshmallows. In terms of marshmallows, we like Dandies. These are completely plant-based and taste exactly like regular ones! While you’re at it, mix in the rest of your ingredients! Don’t be scared to load up on mix-ins. However, be careful not to add so many that your Rocky Road doesn’t stick together.

You’re almost there. All you need to do is pour the mixture into a pan. Then, spread everything flat. In Australia, we make our Rocky Road quite thick – almost like a slice. However, if you prefer thinner bark, just spread the mix over a wider pan! Finally, just let it chill! Put the Rocky Road in the freezer for at least half an hour.

Once you’re sure it’s hard enough to cut, divide it into squares with a knife and … try not to eat the whole thing! Or at least, try not to eat it quicker than it took to make! You can always raid the fridge later, after all.

Once the Rocky Road has set, you’re in for a real treat. Now all you need is willpower! If you try this recipe, please let us know what you thought with a rating and a comment. Every bit of feedback helps make the blog even better.

If you’re looking for more bite-sized sweet treats, we recommend our Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Bites, Shortbread Cookies, and fudgy Black Bean Brownies.

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