Rocky Road

If I was going to be stranded on a desert island, and could take only one candy, Rocky Road would be my choice. I know that Rocky Road can mean different things to different people, depending on where you live, but for me it is white chunks of soft and spongy marshmallow together with crunchy peanuts, all enrobed in a silky smooth dark chocolate.

Rocky Road in its simplest form is folding store bought miniature marshmallows, along with chopped nuts (peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, or almonds), into melted chocolate. While this Rocky Road looks and tastes pretty good, to make it even better, David Lebovitz in his excellent book The Great Book of Chocolate has two suggestions. One is to temper the chocolate and the other is to use homemade marshmallows. So what is tempered chocolate and why do we need it for our Rocky Road? I will try to explain, not so much the science of it, but the process of making it.

First, when you buy good dark chocolate have you noticed that it is nice and shiny, dry to the touch, with a hard and brittle surface which “snaps” when you break it? This is what we call “tempered” chocolate and, unfortunately, once chocolate is melted it loses these characteristics. While it is still great tasting, and you can use this melted chocolate for making Rocky Road, as the chocolate dries it will no longer have that lovely shine and brittle dry texture. Instead it will look dull and, with time, gray streaks will appear (called bloom), and its texture will be a slightly soft with an almost greasy feeling.

So, if we want our Rocky Road to be shiny, dry to the touch, with a nice crunch when you bite into it, then we need to bring it back to its tempered state before adding the marshmallows and peanuts. Tempering involves a three step process, melting the chocolate, cooling the chocolate, and reheating the chocolate.

Before we start, you will need a good chocolate thermometer as a regular candy thermometer does not have a low enough temperature reading. Step One in tempering is to melt one pound (454 grams) of good quality, chopped semi sweet chocolate in a clean and dry heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat. Step Two is to cool the chocolate down to a temperature of between 83 – 85 degrees F (28-29 degrees C). This is done by gradually stirring into the melted chocolate the remaining 1/4 pound (115 grams) of chopped chocolate, using a rubber spatula (do not use a wooden spoon or medal spoon). Be patient as this will take a little time. Stir the chocolate often and as it cools it will start to thicken and lighten in color. Step Three is that, once the chocolate reaches this 83 – 85 degrees F range, it must be reheated to between 88 – 91 degrees F (31 – 33 degrees C). Do this by placing the bowl of melted chocolate back over a saucepan of simmering water for only about 3-5 seconds. Then, remove from heat, stir well, and check the temperature. If it has not reached the correct temperature return to the heat for another 3-5 seconds. Keep doing this process until the chocolate reaches between 88 and 91 degrees F (no higher). It is important to only reheat the chocolate to this temperature, for if it goes any higher, you will need to start the whole “tempering” process again. The final step is to quickly fold the marshmallows and peanuts into the tempered chocolate and spread it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave at room temperature until hard (can also place in the refrigerator) and then cut into pieces. Rocky Road will keep at room temperature for about 10-14 days. Or, if you are like me and like your Rocky Road chilled, store in the refrigerator where it will keep for about a month.

Besides tempering the chocolate, the best Rocky Road uses homemade marshmallows. Now if you are pressed for time you can use store bought miniature marshmallows. However, homemade marshmallows (recipe here) are wonderfully sweet with the scent of vanilla and have a spongy airiness that seems to just dissolve in your mouth. They can be made up to two weeks in advance of making the Rocky Road. If you are like me, you will probably want to eat these marshmallows just as they are because they are that good. Luckily, we only need about half the pan of marshmallow to make Rocky Road, so the rest you can just enjoy.

Rocky Road: Have ready a parchment lined baking sheet.

In a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt one pound (454 grams) of the chopped chocolate.
Once melted, remove chocolate from heat and add the remaining 4 ounces (115 grams) of chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Let the chocolate sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until a chocolate thermometer inserted at least 1/2 inch (1 cm) into the chocolate registers between 83 – 85 degrees F (28-29 degrees C). (At this point you will notice the melted chocolate has thickened and is lighter in color.)

Then, in three second intervals, place the bowl of melted chocolate back over the saucepan of simmering water. After three seconds remove the bowl from the saucepan, stir, and check the temperature of the chocolate. The thermometer needs to register between 88 to 91°F (31 – 33 degrees C) (no higher). Repeat the above step if needed until the proper temperature is reached. The chocolate is now tempered.

Add the marshmallows and peanuts to the tempered chocolate and stir just until they are completely coated with chocolate. Do this quickly and stir as little as possible as the chocolate sets very fast. Immediately spread the rocky road on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let the Rocky Road sit at room temperature until firm and then cut into pieces. Or, you can place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until the Rocky Road is firm.

Rocky Road can be stored at room temperature for about 10 – 14 days or it can be stored for several weeks in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 1/4 pounds of Rocky Road. Preparation time 1 hour.

Note: You can make this recipe for Rocky Road without tempering the chocolate. Simply melt the full 1 1/4 pounds (570 grams) of semi sweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Once melted, remove from heat and fold in the marshmallows and peanuts. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator until set. Cut into pieces and store the Rocky Road in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Chocolate with Bill & Sheila

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