chocolate almond

Guess what time it is…
It’s bundt time y’all. That’s right.

This is actually my #bundtbakers anniversary. My bundtiversary? No, I won’t do that to you.

Anyway, this time exactly one year ago I had just joined the #bundtbakers and published my very first post as part of the group. The theme that month was “breakfast” and I whipped up a crazy amazing maple bacon bundt cake with an even crazier amazinger bacon pecan streusel swirl.

Finding the bundt bakers was the beginning of something truly magical, and I like to think I’ve come up with some really special, really creative bundt cakes along the way. I’ve also watched the group grow and change over the months and I couldn’t be happier to have found such a special bunch of bundt lovers.

This month our host, Laura of Baking in Pyjamas, chose Rocky Road as our theme. Can it get any better than that? I mean, chocolate, nuts, marshmallows… What more could you want?

But then I noticed something in the theme’s description that seemed, to me at least, to be out of place. The list of ingredients for traditional Rocky Road contained, “marshmallows, chocolate, biscuits (cookies in US English), & dried fruits.”

Wait.
What?
I’ve never had anything called Rocky Road that contained either cookies or dried fruit. And what happened to the nuts?

As it turns out, Rocky Road means different things in different countries. In Laura’s home country of England, Rocky Road traditionally includes the ingredients listed above.

As you may or may not already know, American Rocky Road is usually an ice cream flavor containing chocolate, marshmallows, & nuts. In England, it’s a dessert usually eaten in small individual cupcake or brownie sized portions. After a little research I found out that Australia also has their own version that also contains coconut, glacé cherries, and turkish delight.

Who knew?
(certainly not me.)

After learning about all the different variations on Rocky Road, I asked Laura if it’d be okay if we expanded the theme to also include the American and Australian versions.

After some significant consideration and much hemming and hawing over which variation to go with, I decided that the American version was the most familiar and sounded the most appealing to me. I came really close to trying to marry the English and American versions by adding cookies but skipping the dried fruit, but then I couldn’t decide what kind of cookie to use so I just scrapped the idea and decided to keep it simple and traditional.

I find the creativity of the group and the wide range of flavors and variations on this theme incredibly inspiring, not to mention mouth watering. You really need to scroll down past the recipe and see what everyone came up with this month. Before you do though, you’ll probably want to grab a towel to wipe up all the drool.

My original idea for this cake was to add miniature marshmallows to the batter and bake them right into the cake, but they didn’t cooperate. The marshmallows floated to the top of the batter and melted into a sticky mess when baked so I had to rework my recipe. I decided to put the marshmallows on top of the cake in the form of a glaze instead.

In the end, this cake was a real winner. I brought it in to work and my coworkers haven’t stopped talking about it yet.

As if the super moist, super flavorful chocolate cake base for this bundt weren’t perfect enough, it gets a melty chocolate boost in the form of mini chocolate chips mixed into the batter. Thinly sliced toasted almonds and a touch of almond extract go in too, and take things to an even more amazing level of deliciousness. Just when you though it couldn’t get any better, a sweet gooey marshmallow glaze gets poured over the top and even more chocolate chips and almonds get sprinkled over that.

Insanity.

Rocky Road Bundt Cake with Marshmallow Glaze

Servings: 12
Print

adapted from Joy the Baker

For the Cake:
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (plus more for pan)
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup peanut oil or any neutral vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup mini chocolate chips

For the Marshmallow Glaze:
1 1⁄2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups mini marshmallows

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Liberally butter a 10 to 12 cup Bundt pan and dust with a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to evenly coat the inside. Tap out excess cocoa and refrigerate pan until ready to use.

Whisk water and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.

Spread sliced almonds in an even layer on a small cookie sheet and toast at 350 for about 8 minutes or until they smell like nutty heaven on earth. Be careful that they don’t burn or they’ll become bitter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, mix together sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs and egg yolk on low for just one minute. Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix on low again for another minute.
Add the flour and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add the cooled cocoa mixture and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. The batter will seem quite loose and liquid. Reserve 2 tablespoons each of the sliced almonds and mini chocolate chips and set aside for the topping. Stir the rest into the cake batter until well distributed. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for 55-65, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack.

To make the marshmallow glaze, mix sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Melt the butter along with 2 tablespoons of water in a nonstick sauce pan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and immediately add in marshmallows and stir until completely melted, about 1–2 minutes. Whisk into sugar mixture until free of lumps.
Pour glaze evenly over the top of the cooled bundt and sprinkle with your reserved toasted sliced almonds and mini chocolate chips.

Cake should keep, well wrapped in an air tight container, for about 3 days. If refrigerating, let come to room temperature before serving.

The bundt bakers really knocked it out of the park this month. Get ready to drool and check out all of these amazing bundts!

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the BundtBaker home page here.