Rocky Road Frosting

Rocky Road Frosting takes the iconic ice cream flavor combo, chocolate, marshmallow, and salted peanuts, and turns it into a chunky, irresistible cake topping. A simple buttercream base of butter, powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla gets mixed with melted chocolate, then mini marshmallows and salted peanuts fold through at the end so they keep their shape and texture instead of melting into the frosting.

This isn’t a smooth, pipe-able frosting. It’s the kind you spread thickly with a knife and let the chunks of marshmallow and peanut peek through. Best on chocolate or vanilla cake, brownies, or cupcakes where the flavor combo really sings against a simpler base.

Kitchen Tips

• Soften the butter to room temperature, not melted. Soft butter whips into the powdered sugar smoothly. Melted butter gives a runny frosting that won’t hold shape.
• Melt the chocolate gently, either in a microwave at 50 percent power in short bursts, or over a double boiler. Burned chocolate has a bitter edge that’ll show up in the finished frosting.
• Add the marshmallows and peanuts last and fold gently. Mixing too aggressively crushes the marshmallows and dulls the texture.
• Use the frosting the day you make it. Marshmallows go stale and chewy if it sits overnight.

Variations

• Use walnuts, almonds, or pecans in place of peanuts.
• Add a tablespoon of strong coffee with the cream to deepen the chocolate.
• Drizzle hot fudge or caramel sauce over a frosted cake for a rocky road sundae effect.
• Stir in chocolate chips alongside the marshmallows for double the chocolate punch.