Every summer I have an intense fling with Haagen Daz’s Rocky Road ice cream. How could I not swoon over gooey marshmallows and toasted almonds swirled into semi-sweet chocolate ice cream? Talk about the perfect balance of taste and texture. This year my love affair came to an abrupt end when local markets replaced my beloved with such new Haagen Daz flavors as Honey Salted Caramel Almond and Midnight Cookies and Cream. These don’t hold a candle to my old flame. Without my standby pint in the freezer, waiting for whenever I crave a cool sweet, I’ve resorted to making chilled, no-bake rocky road pies instead. (You thought I was going to say “my own ice cream,” weren’t you? If you’re looking for an iced dessert, try my entries on mulled apple cider ice cream and queso helado.)

A Depression era creation from the West Coast, the original rocky road ice cream consisted of walnuts, marshmallows and chocolate ice cream. Almonds later replaced the walnuts but otherwise the today’s recipe contains the same ingredients.

Whether the combination of chocolate, marshmallows and nuts and the name “rocky road” come from America is up for debate. Australians have been eating a candied version of this combo since at least 1853. This was when the first recipe appeared in print.

Australian rocky road features vanilla and cherry or strawberry flavored marshmallows, shredded coconut and chopped walnuts or peanuts mixed into dark or milk chocolate. Sometimes the treat includes glacé cherries. Sometimes not. Poured into a baking pan, the confection is chilled and then cut into rectangular slabs. While traveling in New South Wales and Victoria, I saw trays of rocky road in every candy store and bakeshop, which is more than I can say about America and rocky road ice cream.

No-bake rocky road pie deviates slightly from both the Australian candy and American ice cream recipe. Here semi-sweet chocolate, marshmallows and almonds are contained within a graham cracker crust. If you want to remain truer to the Australian recipe, replace the graham cracker with a coconut crust.

NO-BAKE ROCKY ROAD PIE
“No-bake” is a bit of a misnomer for you do insert the pie crust into a 350 degree oven for a whopping 5 minutes. That’s it, though. In my mind that makes this pie largely “no-bake.”
Serves 8

for the pie crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 sheets, crushed or pulsed in food processor)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

for the filling:
10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels, plus 4 more ounces
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup mini marshmallows
3/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped

for the topping:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/3-1/2 cup mini marshmallows

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set out a 9-inch pie pan.

Place the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Using a spatula or large spoon, stir the ingredients together until all the crumbs are coated in butter. Spoon the ingredients into the 9-inch pie pan and, using your fingers, pat the crumbs into place around the bottom and sides of the pan. You’ll want the crust to extend to the lip of the pan.

Bake the crust for 5 minutes, until lightly browned and the crust has set. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

To make the filling, pour 10 ounces of chocolate morsels and cream into a large, glass, heat-proof bowl or double boiler. If you’re using a glass bowl, heat the ingredients in the microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes, removing the bowl at 20 second intervals to stir the chocolate and cream together. If using a double boiler on your stove, heat the chocolate and cream over medium-high, stirring constantly until all the chocolate has melted and the ingredients have combined. Remove the bowl or pan from the heat and allow the chocolate to cool.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Put a tablespoon of melted chocolate in the eggs and whisk together. Repeat until the eggs are warm but not curdled or cooked. Pour the egg mixture into the melted chocolate and stir until well-combined.

In a separate bowl toss together the marshmallows, almonds and additional 4 ounces of chocolate. Sprinkle half on the bottom of the pie crust and then pour half of the melted chocolate over top. Sprinkle in the rest of the marshmallows, morsels and nuts. Pour the remaining melted chocolate over this and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 1 hour.

Before serving, melt the bittersweet chocolate and cream together in either a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler, stirring until well-combined. Set aside to cool slightly.

Spread the mini marshmallows over the top of the pie. Drizzle the melted bittersweet chocolate over the marshmallows and serve.