No-Churn Rocky Road Ice Cream is velvety smooth and amazingly delicious. It takes minutes to make and doesn't require an ice cream maker. The chocolate ice cream itself uses only three ingredients, with several additional ingredients added for the ever-popular Rocky Road Ice Cream.
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Quick Look at the Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Freeze Time: 6 hours
- Difficulty: Easy
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Yes
About Rocky Road Ice Cream
Rocky Road Ice Cream traditionally includes chocolate ice cream with nuts and marshmallows added. There are differing accounts as to the actual origin of Rocky Road Ice Cream.
One source credits the creation of Rocky Road Ice Cream to William Dreyer from Oakland, California. In March of 1929, Dreyer added cut-up walnuts to chocolate ice cream. The walnuts were later replaced by almonds.
According to one source, the ice cream was named Rocky Road "to give folks something to smile about in the midst of the Great Depression." Another source credits the name to the lumps and bumps created by the nuts.
Today it's very easy to add different ingredients to ice cream. When the ice cream was developed, however, adding ingredients like nuts and marshmallows proved difficult because of the freezing techniques at the time.
Rocky Road Ice Cream was revolutionary at the time because it was one of the first to incorporate mix-ins and extend beyond the traditional chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors.
Whatever the source, Rocky Road Ice Cream quickly became a sensation with different variations on a theme such as the use of different nuts and the addition of chocolate chips.
Ingredients: Here's What You Need
For the Ice Cream: To make the chocolate ice cream, I only needed three ingredients: heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and unsweetened cocoa.
For the Mix-ins: To transform the chocolate ice cream into Rocky Road Ice Cream, I used mini marshmallows, toasted almonds, and mini chocolate chips.
Here's How I Made The No-Churn Rocky Road Ice Cream
The beauty of the no-churn method is that it doesn't require an ice cream maker. Rather, all it requires is an electric mixer.
- I started by mixing the sweetened condensed milk and unsweetened cocoa in a bowl. Once the two ingredients were well mixed, I set them aside.
- Next, I beat the heavy cream with my electric mixer until stiff peaks formed.
- To lighten the sweetened condensed milk/cocoa mixture, I folded in about a cup of whipped cream.
- After that, I carefully folded in the lightened sweetened condensed milk/cocoa mixture to the remaining whipped cream.
- Once the chocolate ice cream was well mixed together, I folded in the mini marshmallows, toasted almond pieces, and mini chocolate chips.
- Finally, I transferred the Rocky Road Ice Cream to a chilled 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. I covered the pan with aluminum foil and placed it in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
The No-Churn Rocky Road Ice Cream was amazing. The rich chocolate ice cream was velvety smooth with just the right amount of mini marshmallows, toasted almond pieces, and mini chocolate chips. Yum!
In Case You Wondered
Pecans and walnuts are perfect substitutes for almonds.
I would avoid using regular chocolate chips. Once frozen, the chocolate chips become quite hard making it somewhat difficult to bite into the larger chocolate chips. If you don't have the mini chocolate chips, I would just use the marshmallows and the nuts.
An ice cream machine increases the volume and lightness of the ingredients by incorporating air into the ice cream mixture during the churning. The no-churn method also incorporates air into the ice cream mixture as the whipping cream is beaten. Specifically, as the cream is whipped, its volume increases with the incorporation of air and it becomes lighter. Therefore, you have the same principle at work.
I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, which is Dutch processed. However, feel free to use regular unsweetened cocoa or another brand of Dutch-processed cocoa.
Other No-Churn Ice Cream Recipes
If you want to skip the hassle of using an ice cream machine for making ice cream treats, consider one of these amazing recipes.
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Recipe
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No-Churn Rocky Road Ice Cream
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- Large Bowl
- Silicone or wooden spoon
- Metal loaf pan
Ingredients
- 14 ounce Can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup (1.5 ounces, 43 grams) unsweetened cocoa (See Tip 1)
- 2 cups (16 ounces, 473 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup (1.6 ounces, 45 grams) mini marshmallows
- 1 cup (4 ounces, 413 grams) Almond pieces, toasted (See Tip 2)
- ½ cup (3 ounces, 85 grams) Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (See Tip 3)
Instructions
- Place a 9 x 5 x 3-inch metal loaf pan in the freezer to chill.
- Mix together the sweetened condensed milk and unsweetened cocoa. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form.
- Fold about a cup of whipped cream into the sweetened condensed mixture with a rubber spatula until well combined. Then fold the lightened mixture into the whipped cream until well blended.
- Fold the mini marshmallows, toasted almonds, and mini chocolate chips into the chocolate ice cream.
- Transfer the ice cream to the chilled loaf pan. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours.
- Yield: 8 servings
Video
Tips/Notes
- I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa, which is Dutch-processed. However, you can also use regular unsweetened cocoa.
- To toast the almond pieces, place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 8 minutes. Watch carefully to ensure that the almonds don't burn.
- I would not use regular-sized chocolate chips. The mini chocolate chips can be omitted.
RB says
Great recipe, family loves it and I love being able to control the ratios.....
I'm going to use this foundation for many other ice cream flavors in the future.... Best part, it's SO easy and virtually takes no time and you don't have to turn on the oven!
Chula King says
Thanks RB!
Chula