National Rocky Road Day is a day dedicated to the eating of Rocky Road Ice Cream. Rocky Road Ice Cream is a dessert made using Marshmallows, Nuts, and Chocolate. In addition to being an Ice Cream flavor, Rocky Road is actually a popular dessert that is even older than Ice Cream. In fact, it was this dessert that inspired the Ice Cream made with these same ingredients. National Rocky Road Day can certainly be relied upon to celebrate either one–or both–of these decadent desserts.
The Rocky Road dessert was first created in Australia in 1853. Unscrupulous businessmen took confectionery items that had been spoiled by their journey from Europe and mixed them with local Nuts as well as low quality Chocolate to try to recover the ingredients instead of throwing the spoiled ingredients out.
The name was used as reference to the Rocky Road that travelers used in order to access the gold fields, since the dessert sort of had the look of a rather bumpy road filled with rocks and potholes. If you were to drive down any Street in my town you most likely would be reminded of Rocky Road Ice Cream because of all the holes in the Street the City hasn’t fixed and they don’t seem to have plans to fix them anytime soon.
Rocky Road Ice Cream, however, was invented by William Dreyer in Oakland, in 1929. William Dreyer created an Ice Cream that included the same ingredients as the original dessert as a means to lift the spirits of those affected by the Wall Street crash that launched into the Great Depression of the 1930s. The tagline used for this treat at the time was “share a scoop, share a smile”.
LET’S Celebrate National Rocky Road Day
Make Authentic Rocky Road
Because Rocky Road was originally inspired by dumping an eclectic variety of leftovers into cheap Chocolate, the rules for making Rocky Road of any kind are pretty flexible! Simply do it with whatever is preferred or what is on hand in the kitchen. Start by melting Chocolate–something with a high wax content will help keep it from melting again too easily.
Then, add in a bunch of whatever is in the cabinet! This conglomeration can include ingredients including Nuts, Almonds, Peanuts, Pecans, or Walnuts. Try out dried Fruits like Raisins, dried Cranberries, or even small chunks of dried Mango. Don’t forget to add in bits of mini Marshmallows that will keep everything extra sweet!
Enjoy Rocky Road Ice Cream
Today is a perfect day to head out to an Ice Cream Shop, restaurant or grocery store that offers Rocky Road Ice Cream in celebration of National Rocky Road Day:
Sample these brands to see which Rocky Road is best:
- Baskin Robbins Rocky Road. Made from cream, sugars, marshmallows, cocoa, and almonds (plus a few other ingredients) this Rocky Road is available from one of the most recognizable ice cream brands in the world. Find Baskin Robbins locations in the United States, Canada, Russia, Australia, Egypt, Thailand, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and so many more.
- Edy’s Rocky Road. Try the ice cream brand that started it all when Joseph Edy and William Dreyer got together to make Rocky Road Ice Cream. This slow churned chocolate ice cream contains marshmallows, chocolate chunks and walnuts. The company is now owned by international corporation, Nestle.
Share Rocky Road with a Friend
To make the most out of National Rocky Road Day, be sure to pass on the love by sharing either the Ice Cream or the dessert treat with a friend or family member. Or grab a couple of cartons of Ice Cream to take to the office to share with coworkers in the break room.
Prepare Rocky Road Smoothies
For those who don’t have easy access to Rocky Road Ice Cream, or who are looking for a slightly healthier alternative, it’s easy to whip up a batch of Rocky Road Smoothies to enjoy with family. Just throw these ingredients into a blender: Chocolate Milk, frozen Banana slices, sliced Almonds, mini Marshmallows, and Almond flavoring. Blend the ingredients up and enjoy!
Recipe for Rocky Road Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup light cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Directions
- Cook and stir condensed milk and cocoa in a medium saucepan over low heat until smooth and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir in heavy cream, light cream, and vanilla. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
- Pour mixture into the canister of an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Stir in marshmallows and nuts halfway through the freezing process.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
