This Rocky Road Sheetcake is going to take your sheet cake game to a whole new level. Deliciously moist sheet cake, cooked to perfection and topped with an ooey gooey mixture of marshmallows, chocolate, and cashews. You won’t want a regular sheet cake again! If you are like me and you LOVE sheet cake, make sure to check out my best ever chocolate cake and my texas turtle sheet cake recipes!
Rocky Road Sheet Cake
Traditional Rocky Road ice cream is one of my favorites. I love to pair it with a fresh from the oven chocolate cake, so this combination just makes perfect sense! Rocky Road ice cream was invented during the great depression when the most common flavors were vanilla and chocolate. The folks that made it named it “rocky road” to give people something to smile about in the face of some pretty uncertain times. It’s amazing to me that ice cream of any kind could have such an impact. It probably helps that Chocolate Ice Cream with nuts and chocolate chunks and marshmallows pair pretty nicely together.
Rocky Road Sheet Cake Recipe
To make this recipe you start with a traditional sheet cake base, my all time favorite best ever chocolate cake recipe is the base for this delicious rocky road sheet cake. Here is what you will need.
Chocolate Cake
- brown sugar
- brewed coffee
- cocoa powder
- butter
- vanilla
- flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salted butter
- sugar
- eggs
Rocky Road Topping
- butter
- cocoa powder
- buttermilk
- powdered sugar
- vanilla
- marshmallows
- cashews
How to Make Rocky Road Sheet Cake
- brown sugar
- brewed coffee (strong)
- cocoa powder
- butter
- vanilla
Rocky Road Sheet Cake Variations
Variety is the spice of life right? If you want to make a few adjustments to these brownies, here are a few suggestions:
- Change cashews to almond slivers, or crushed pecans or walnuts
- Instead of milk chocolate chips, use dark chocolate chunks, or white chocolate chunks, or go crazy with a triple chocolate rocky road sheet cake and add all three.
- Go DIY and make your own marshmallows with this homemade marshmallow recipe
Rocky Road Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
FIRST PART
- 1/3 cup (67g) brown sugar
- 1/3 cup strong coffee
- 1/2 cup (50g) dark cocoa (or dutch process)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
SECOND PART
- 1 1/2 cups (192g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, warm but not melted
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup cold coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Rocky Road Topping
- 1/2 cup (1 stick or 113g) butter
- 1/2 cup (50g) cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup (82g) buttermilk
- 3 cups (375g) confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 bag (10 ounces) mini marshmallows
- 1 cup chopped cashews
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
FIRST PART
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place all ingredients in the first part into a saucepan over low heat. Stir until they are fully incorporated, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. It should be a little thick and similar to custard.
SECOND PART
- In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder together.
- Add 1/2 cup warm butter, sugars, eggs, cooled coffee, and vanilla to the flour mixture and mix with a hand-held mixer until fully combined. (or stir by hand)
- Add the chocolate mixture from the FIRST PART to the ingredients from the SECOND PART. Stir by hand until all ingredients are well combined.
- Pour onto a prepared (sprayed or lined with parchment) baking sheet (I used a 10x15in baking sheet). Smooth out the batter and gently tap on the counter.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 16-22 minutes, or until the center no longer appears wet and an inserted toothpick is removed with a few crumbs.
Rocky Road Toppings
- While the cake is baking combine the butter, cocoa, and buttermilk and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat, and add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and half of the marshmallows. Stir to combine.
- Sprinkle remaining half marshmallows over hot baked cake
- Pour icing over hot cake, it should spread itself out evenly over cake.
- Sprinkle with chopped Cashews.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Looking for More Sheet Cake Recipes?
Make sure to check out some of my favorites!
Thanks so much for this. I will make for church.
Just reading the recipe and while you mention using milk chocolate chips, you don’t tell us when or where to use them. Are they added to the cake batter or to the icing?
I’m not seeing milk chocolate chips in the recipe.
Would this work in a regular cake pan, instead of the baking sheet?
Hi, Katie! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Yes, you could use a 9×13-inch baking pan for this recipe, but we have not replicated that so you may have to adjust the baking time. Have a great day!
Yes, they’re there in the post. Under the heading Rocky Road Sheet Cake Variations it says, “Instead of milk chocolate chips, use dark chocolate chunks, or white chocolate chunks, or go crazy with a triple chocolate rocky road sheet cake and add all three.”