Chocolate Orange Rocky Road

This deliciously more-ish and decadent chocolate orange rocky road fridge cake is possibly one of the best things we’ve made this year. And the best thing about it is, it’s super easy to make – no baking, just chilling!

There are lots of different names for this kind of recipe – it is sometimes called a tiffin cake, a tray bake, a no-bake cake, a fridge cake, chocolate refrigerator cake, slab cake, and of course as we’ve called it, the rocky road.

And most of these names are somewhat misnomer’s – it’s not really a cake at all. This chocolate orange rocky road is essentially chocolate filled with broken biscuits, marshmallows, and Terry’s chocolate orange. 

If baking is not really your thing, this is the recipe for you! All you need to do is melt some chocolate, and stir through whatever delicious bits of biscuits, marshmallows, and other sweet goodies to the mixture. You press it into a greased baking tin, pop it in the fridge for a few hours, and it’s done! 

You slice it up and enjoy with a nice cup of tea or coffee. The Christmas rocky road is the perfect winter afternoon treat. And as it looks so pretty, it’s perfect to offer to guests, or to take round as a gift on your many festive visits this season.

This chocolate fridge cake is not to be confused with rocky road chocolate bars – a candy bar popular in the United States.

This recipe is highly recommended by all our friends and family who tested this out for us. It’s like a chocolate orange slab of deliciousness. Some have even called it the best rocky road recipe, but we’ll let you try it out and let us know! 

What is a chocolate orange rocky road?

Using the festive favourite chocolate, which fills aisles of supermarkets in the UK every winter, the famous Terry’s chocolate orange is a mainstay at Christmas.

This easy recipe for rocky road takes the classic rocky road recipe of chocolate melted together with biscuits (cookies or shortbread if you’re in the US) and marshmallows and adds the festive twist of Terry’s chocolate orange. Plus we like to decorate it to look pretty and festive with a drizzle of white chocolate, sprinkles, and more chocolate orange segments.

What is in the chocolate orange rocky road recipe? How to make a rocky road

The chocolate is melted together with butter and golden syrup which gives it its sweetness and structure. We used either rich tea biscuits or ginger nut biscuits broken into large pieces. In the US, you’d use cookies such as Marie biscuits. You can also get the McVities Rich Tea biscuits are World Market stores. 

You add the broken biscuits with mini marshmallows and chopped up chocolate orange segments, and then stir through the melted chocolate mixture. 

Once mixed you press into a greased and lined baking tin. Then drizzle with some melted white chocolate, a few colourful sprinkles and then finish with more chocolate orange segments on top.

What does the chocolate orange rocky road tray bake taste like?

One of the most pleasing things about this rocky road is the contrast of textures. There is the smooth decadence of the chocolate contrasting with the crunch of the rich tea biscuits. Then there’s the chewiness of the mini marshmallows. It’s all rather delightful.

We would say, this is a very sweet fridge cake. So slice up and portion according to how much of a sweet tooth you have. 

What is the best way to serve rocky road tiffin cake?

This chocolate orange tiffin cake is best served with a hot cup of tea or coffee. The pure decadence and sweetness of this makes the hot drink the perfect foil for it. It cuts through that sweetness.

We initially sliced up this fridge cake into 16 portions, but even then that was too much sweetness for us. So sometimes we’d slice again along the diagonal when we snuck the fridge for a cheeky mid-afternoon sweet fix. 

The joy of this specifically being a chocolate orange rocky road is that it feels super festive. That makes afternoon tea feel all that more wintery and special with this Christmas rocky road cake.

Can you make any ingredient substitutions to the chocolate rocky road recipe?

One of the best things about a rocky road recipe is that you can change and adapt it to suit your own taste and whatever you have in the pantry.

We know a lot of people are looking for a rocky road recipe without dark chocolate and honestly, you really can just switch the chocolate element to milk chocolate. If you want to use milk chocolate maybe use less golden syrup. 

If you don’t have access to Terry’s chocolate orange you can substitute for a standard bar of orange flavour chocolate. Or use standard chocolate with a drop or two of orange oil essence/extract.

The golden syrup can be substituted for corn syrup or honey.

Ideally you want a contrast in textures for the perfect rocky road. Choose ingredients that are crunchy, crispy, chewy, or soft. You can totally get creative with your options. 

Popular rocky road variations include:

• Peanuts
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Macadamias
• Cashews
• Coated or Candied Nuts
• Turkish Delight
• Glace Cherries
• Dried Fruits
• Jelly Candies/Sweets
• Honeycomb
• Rice Crispies
• Cornflakes

Tips for making no-bake Chocolate Orange Rocky Road recipe

If the fridge cake is too hard to cut into slices after refrigeration, leave out for 20-30 minutes then slice.

Be sure to allow the melted chocolate/butter/golden syrup mixture to cool for a few minutes so that it doesn’t totally melt the chocolate orange chunks.

Here’s the recipe for one of the best Christmas chocolate treats you could make this year! 

CHOCOLATE ORANGE ROCKY ROAD (SERVES 16)

INGREDIENTS

• 125g Unsalted Butter
• 300g Dark Chocolate 70% (use half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate if you prefer)
• 3 Tbsp Golden Syrup
• 150g Rich Tea Biscuits, roughly broken into pieces
• 150g Mini Marshmallows
• 1 Terry’s Chocolate Orange
  • Half chocolate orange, roughly chopped, to stir in
  • Half chocolate orange, to decorate
• 100g White Chocolate, to drizzle
• Gold Sprinkles

METHOD

1. Prepare a 20cm x 20cm baking tin by lining with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. Melt the butter, chocolate, and golden syrup together in a microwave-proof bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, then stir. It should be melted within 3-4 blasts and stir.
3. Allow the chocolate mixture to cool for a few minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl add the broken biscuits, marshmallows, and chopped chocolate orange pieces.
5. Pour the melted chocolate into the large mixing bowl of rocky road pieces and gently mix together until all pieces are coated.
6. In a separate microwave-safe bowl melt the white chocolate in 30 seconds bursts, stir in between, until melted. Allow the chocolate to cool for a few minutes.
7. Tip into the prepared lined baking paper and spread with a spatula so that the mixture is roughly evenly spread.
8. Using a spoon, take spoonfuls of melted white chocolate and drizzle diagonally across the the rocky road mixture in the pan. Then sprinkle with some of the gold sprinkles, and finally place chocolate orange segments along the top.
9. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until set.
10. Carefully remove the rocky road from the pan and place on a chopping board. Use a sharp knife to cut into small squares.

You might also like:

• Ultimate Chocolate Brownies
• How to Make a Hot Chocolate Station At Home
• Rum and Ginger Cake
• Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars

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