Say hello to my No-Bake Rocky Road Reindeer Cake. A quick and easy treat for the holidays.
In my opinion, Rocky road is an essential bake at Christmas! I’ve already given you a few brand new recipes this year that are Christmas related, but I had this one up my sleeve. I recently made some White Chocolate Reindeer Rocky Road Bars and they went down a storm when I posted them on social media and shared with family & friend’s, but we needed a dark chocolate version!
This post has been created in collaboration with iChoc. All opinions expressed in the post are my own. (For more information, you can check out my Disclosure Policy.)
This Reindeer Rocky Road ‘cake’ is super easy to make and tastes OUT OF THIS WORLD good! I mean, who doesn’t love rocky road? It’s always a popular hit!
What’s better than rocky roads bars? A reindeer rocky road cake of course!
This rocky road is made in a gorgeous star shaped tin, perfect for decorating into a festive reindeer. You don’t HAVE to use a star shaped tin, but it does make for a really festive dessert!
What is a Rocky Road?
Rocky road is a no-bake slice made up of chocolate, marshmallows along with other ingredients, which tend to vary by country. They can contain biscuits, nuts, chopped chocolate or a mixture of candy bars. The variations are endless!
I opted to make the whole rocky road in a star shaped cake tin, with the overall flavour being chocolate with the addition of orange flavouring and grated orange.
Chocolate orange is a dream combination at Christmas time, it just had to be done- haha!
I used melted white chocolate for the antlers, roll out black & white fondant for the eyes and a maraschino cherry for the nose. This ‘cake’ looks ADORABLE and super festive! It’s the perfect treat to make with kids!
Why you need to make these ‘cake’?
- It’s extremely easy to make
- No baking required
- Can be made gluten-free if using gluten-free biscuits
- It’s super delicious
- Great fun to make with kids
- It’s extremely versatile
- 100% vegan
- Can be made in advance
In order to make this rocky road, you’ll need a few things:
Firstly, a star cake tin. I was so excited when I found this tin on Amazon. As soon as I saw it, the idea of creating a no-bake rocky road in it popped into my head. [Affiliate link]
Secondly- marshmallows. Obviously you’ll have to hunt down some vegan friendly marshmallows for this one. My favourites are the plain vanilla Dandies and Freefrom Mallows. They are both vegan friendly. Both are chewy like your ‘classic’ marshmallows and work really nicely in this dessert.
These taste identical to the non-vegan marshmallows! In fact, you literally can’t tell the difference! They also have the most delicious vanilla flavour which helps flavour this ‘cake’ even more!
Thirdly, CHOCOLATE! Obviously a rocky road need’s the most delicious chocolate in the world! Am i right?
iChoc have been one of my all time favourite chocolates for years now! Their chocolates are 100% vegan friendly, and are great to bake with.
For the base of the rocky road, including the ganache, I used the iChoc Classic Chocolate.
This chocolate is made using rice milk, so it’s ultra smooth. It resembles a really creamy milk chocolate. When added into the rocky road, it gives a lovely creaminess and sweetness. A scrumptious alternative to dark chocolate.
It also melts incredibly well, so I decided to coat the whole rocky road cake in it (not that this dessert needed anymore chocolate, but more chocolate the better)!
For the ganache, I mixed the melted iChoc Classic with some dairy-free cream. It is a dream to work with. Some vegan chocolates can be grainy, and can go funny when melted, iChoc have their formula spot on!!! You need to try it and see for yourself!
I’m always asked on my Instagram ‘What white chocolate do you use?’ etc.
I always state iChoc White Vanilla because it is simply incredible.
Really delicious vegan white chocolate is hard to come by. Most are either too sweet, too grainy and don’t melt nicely. This chocolate melts like ‘normal’ chocolate, can be easily tempered and tastes SO GOOD! It actually reminds me of how ‘Milky Bar’ used to taste (that was my favourite chocolate growing up / before I turned vegan).
This chocolates is:
- Vegan
- GMO-free
- Organic
- No artificial flavouring
I also love iChoc because all of their packaging is plastic free! They use a natural film out of wood fibre, which acts like plastic but is completely natural and doesn’t harm the planet! They’ve thought of everything!!!
Read more about their sustainability here.
Looking for more reindeer inspired bakes? Look no further:
No-Bake White Chocolate Reindeer Rocky Road Bars
Vegan Almond and Brown Butter Reindeer Cake
Vegan Reindeer Brownie Cookies
No-Bake Rocky Road Reindeer Cake
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 1 large cake 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A No-Bake, Vegan Chocolate Orange Reindeer Rocky Road Cake. Perfect for Christmas baking.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the rocky road
- 200g of plain biscuits (you can use gluten-free)
- 100g of mini vegan vanilla marshmallows
- 3 tablespoons of golden syrup
- 1 tablespoon of orange extract
- 1 large orange (zest only)
- 200g of iChoc Classic Chocolate
- 140g of dairy-free block butter
Ingredients for the chocolate ganache
- 100g of iChoc Classic Chocolate
- 50ml of dairy-free cream
Decorations
- 1 bar of iChoc Vanilla White Chocolate
- Black fondant
- White fondant
- 1 maraschino cherry (or something similar)
Instructions
Method (rocky road)
- Grease a star shaped cake tin with coconut oil, making sure to grease every single point. Line the sides of the tin with grease proof paper. This will make it easier for removing the rocky road when ready.
- Break up the biscuits into small chunks and place into a heat proof bowl, along with the marshmallows. Set aside. TIP: If you’re using large marshmallows, cut them into small pieces.
- Add the golden syrup, dairy-free iChoc Classic Chocolate and butter in a medium sized saucepan. Heat on low until fully melted. Use a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to stir the mixture to prevent sticking and burning onto the sides of the pan. Don’t let the mixture burn. The white chocolate has a tendency to go gritty if it’s left in the pan for too long.
- When ready, pour the melted chocolate mixture over the biscuit and marshmallows. Add in the orange zest and orange extract. Stir to combine, making sure everything is covered in the chocolate mixture.
- Tip the mixture into the greased & lined tin, compacting it with a spatula. Try to get this as compact as possible, pressing down into the edges. Place into the fridge for 2-3 hours or until fully set.
Method (chocolate ganache)
- Place the dairy-free cream and iChoc Classic Chocolate into a medium sized saucepan. Gently heat until melted. Stir with a heat proof spatula / wooden spoon to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Carefully remove the rocky road from the tin. Tip. Turn the tin upside down and knock it with a rolling pin. As this is set chocolate, you might need to run a warmed knife around the edges to loosen it.
- When its out, place the rocky road star on a wire rack, over a large baking tray.
- Pour the ganache all over the star and spread out with a off set spatula. Watch the tutorial here.
- Once the star is covered in ganache, carefully transfer onto a tray or board lined with grease proof paper and place into the freezer for 5 minutes.
Method (white chocolate antlers)
- Add the dairy-free iChoc White Vanilla Chocolate into a heat proof bowl. Fill a medium sized saucepan 1/4 full with water. Place the saucepan on the hob over low / medium heat, and add the bowl on top. This creates a bain-marie. Allow the white chocolate to melt and cool very slightly.
- Add the melted white chocolate into a heat proof piping bag, and snip off the tip. Pipe antlers onto some grease proof paper then place into the freezer to set.
Assemble the reindeer
- Place the rocky road onto a serving plate. Use some melted chocolate to stick on the anters.
- Roll two balls of white fondant and two smaller balls of black fondant. Stick the black onto the white. This creates the reindeer’s eyes.
- Dot some melted chocolate and stick on the eyes.
- Dot some melted chocolate and press a maraschino cherry into the middle of the rocky road, for the reindeer nose.
Notes
What dairy-free cream to use?
When it comes to ganache, any kind of cream will work perfectly. For example, vegan / dairy-free single, double, whipping cream, as well as coconut cream.
What vegan block butter to use?
My favourite vegan / dairy-free block butters are ‘Naturli Vegan Block’ or Flora Plant Based Block Butter Alternative (salted or unsalted).
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chilling time: 30 minutes
- Category: christmas recipes
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: Christmas recipes
What kind of biscuits did you use? I want to make this for Christmas at my in laws but I’m not sure what type or kind of biscuit the recipe calls for.