When summer kicks off all I want is ice cream. Lately I’ve been craving this dairy-free Rocky Road Ice Cream. Lucious, creamy, chocolate ice cream with rivers of dreamy, magical, marshmallow fluff, and studded with salty-sweet, chocolate-covered almonds might make this one of the best ice creams of all.
Pile it high on an ice cream cone or scoop a mountain of it into a bowl and enjoy it all summer long.
Rocky Road Ice Cream
- Swiss chocolate ice cream
- homemade marshmallow fluff
- 3/4 cup sea salt chocolate covered almonds, roughly chopped (Trader Joe’s are my fave)
Marshmallow Fluff:
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (175 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (140 grams) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) water
- 1 Tbsp (15 grams)vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Directions:
- Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- In a 2-quart saucepan heat the sugar, maple syrup, water, and sea salt over medium heat. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved, then don’t stir anymore.
- When the sugar mixture reaches 225F, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. (Use a whisk attachment and beat on medium speed.)
- Once the egg whites have soft peaks, turn off the mixer and wait for the sugar mixture to reach 240F.
- When the sugar syrup is reaches 240F, turn the mixer on low. In a slow, steady stream pour a little bit of the sugar syrup into the egg whites. Continue pouring slowly and increase the mixer to medium speed.
- Once all the sugar syrup is poured into the egg whites, beat the fluff for 6 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and continue to beat the fluff until it is glossy and cooled (about 5-6 minutes).
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the freezer. (Storing the marshmallow fluff in the freezer keeps the sugar from crystallizing and becoming grainy. The marshmallow fluff will keep for a month in the freezer.)
Swiss Chocolate Ice Cream:
- 2 3/4 cup (650 grams) coconut cream
- 1 1/3 cup (320 grams) evaporated coconut cream
- 3/4 cup (175 grams) turbinado sugar
- 1/4 cup (70 grams) maple syrup
- 1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp, plus 2 tsp (15 grams) tapioca flour
- 1 tsp (5 grams) vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 4 oz. dark chocolate (55% – 70% dark chocolate is my fave for this recipe)
Directions:
- Mix the tapioca flour with 1/4 cup of coconut cream to make a slurry. Set aside.
- In a 4 quart saucepan whisk together the remaining coconut cream, evaporated coconut cream, turbinado sugar, maple syrup, and sea salt.
- Cook over medium heat until it reaches a low boil, whisking frequently. Once the cream reaches a low boil, continue to boil it for 3 minutes. (Whisk the mixture while it cooks to prevent the cream from scorching.)
- Whisk in the cocoa powder until it is fully incorporated and continue to boil for 1 minute.
- Remove the cream from the heat and whisk in the tapioca slurry. Return to the heat for 1 minute, whisking to thicken the mixture. It should be a bit like pudding at this point.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the ice cream base through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Once the ice cream base reaches room temperature, place the bowl in the refrigerator until it is chilled (4 hours, up to overnight).
- With the machine running, pour the ice cream into an ice cream maker and churn it until it reaches soft serve consistency.
- In a freezer safe container, layer the Swiss chocolate ice cream, marshmallow fluff, and chopped sea salt chocolate covered almonds. Repeat 2-3 times. (The amounts are totally up to you and your preferences.)
- Place a piece of parchment paper directly onto the ice cream. (This helps prevent ice crystals from forming on the ice cream.) Freeze for 4 hours or longer to allow the ice cream to set.
- Allow the ice cream to soften at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping. Scoop and enjoy!
Test Kitchen Notes
Allow the ice cream base to chill in the refrigerator before churning it. Having a cold ice cream base will help prevent large ice crystals from forming while churning. It will also help the base churn properly; a warm base may never reach soft serve consistency.
Freezing the ice cream after churning it helps the ice cream firm up and become a scoop able consistency. Put the ice cream in a freezer safe container and freeze it for about 4 hours or longer before scooping it.
Most homemade ice creams need to soften before scooping. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to achieve smooth scoops.
Most of my friends go crazy for this Marshmallow Fluff and end up eating it by the spoonful. The Marshmallow Fluff can easily be doubled if you want a bit extra.
The Marshmallow Fluff can be made and frozen up to a month in advance.
Most homemade ice cream is best eaten within one week of making it.