These Rocky Road Cupcakes deliver everything you love about the classic rocky road flavor: deep chocolate richness, gooey marshmallow sweetness, and the perfect nutty crunch. Featuring ultra-moist chocolate cupcakes, a luscious marshmallow fluff filling, and a light chocolate pudding whipped cream frosting, this recipe creates a bakery-quality dessert that’s easy to make at home. Perfect for parties, celebrations, or anytime you crave a gourmet chocolate treat.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

You’ll love this Rocky Road Cupcakes Recipe because it combines a deeply fudgy chocolate base with a creamy marshmallow center and cloud-like chocolate frosting. The texture mix is exceptional: fluffy cupcakes, silky filling, and crunchy walnuts on top. It uses simple pantry ingredients yet produces a stunning, show-stopping dessert with rich rocky road flavor in every bite. This is the kind of cupcake that makes people ask for the recipe.

Rocky Road Cupcakes

If you’re searching for a dessert that captures the nostalgic charm of rocky road while delivering a gourmet cupcake experience, these Rocky Road Cupcakes are the perfect choice. They bring together the classic elements of chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts but elevate them into a luxurious, bakery-style treat. Each cupcake is packed with layers of flavor and texture, making them stand out from standard chocolate cupcakes.

The base of these cupcakes is made with a rich chocolate cake mix enhanced with pudding mix, sour cream, and milk to create an incredibly moist and tender crumb. This combination ensures a deep chocolate flavor that is both satisfying and indulgent. The batter bakes up into soft, melt-in-your-mouth cupcakes that serve as the ideal foundation for the rocky road-inspired fillings and toppings.

One of the most delightful features of this recipe is the marshmallow fluff filling. Once the cupcakes are baked and slightly cooled, a generous scoop of marshmallow fluff is added to the center. This creates a creamy, gooey surprise inside every cupcake, giving them irresistible richness and balance that complements the chocolate base beautifully.

The frosting is light yet full of flavor, made from whipped heavy cream sweetened with powdered sugar and stabilized with instant chocolate pudding mix. This creates a silky, chocolate cloud-like topping that enhances the mocha richness without being overly heavy. It’s the type of frosting that pipes beautifully and holds its shape while maintaining an airy, smooth texture.

Walnuts bring authentic rocky road character, offering a pleasant crunch that contrasts with the softness of the cake and creaminess of the filling. A sprinkle of nuts on top adds visual appeal and doubles down on the classic flavor profile. Mini marshmallows and sprinkles add whimsy and texture, creating a cupcake that is as beautiful as it is delicious.

These cupcakes are surprisingly easy to assemble, making them a fantastic choice for parties, holidays, birthdays, or potlucks. They make a striking dessert table centerpiece and are always crowd-pleasers thanks to their nostalgic yet elevated flavor. Even novice bakers can achieve stunning results with this dependable and straightforward recipe.

Another reason these cupcakes are so beloved is their ability to stay moist for days. Thanks to the combination of sour cream, pudding mix, and oil, the cupcakes retain their soft, tender texture long after baking. This makes them ideal for preparing in advance without compromising quality.

Whether you’re an experienced baker or someone who loves simple recipes with big results, this cupcake recipe is one you’ll revisit again and again. It showcases how a few key flavor elements—chocolate, marshmallow, and nuts—can come together to create an unforgettable dessert experience.

In a world filled with thousands of cupcake recipes, these Rocky Road Cupcakes stand out because they deliver indulgence, texture, and nostalgia all at once. They’re rich but not heavy, fun but elegant, and easy yet impressive—qualities that make them truly exceptional for any occasion.

Servings & Time

Servings: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

• 3.9 oz instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

• 1 cup sour cream

• 4 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Frosting

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

• 1/3 cup instant chocolate pudding mix

Filling

• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

Toppings

• Mini marshmallows

• Extra chopped walnuts

• Sprinkles

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, pudding mix, and sea salt.

3. Add eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, vanilla, and milk. Mix until smooth and fully combined.

4. Fold in chopped walnuts.

5. Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full.

6. Bake for 17–19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

7. For the frosting, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Add pudding mix and continue whipping until thick and pipeable.

8. Core the center of each cupcake and fill with a spoonful of marshmallow fluff.

9. Pipe frosting over each cupcake.

10. Finish with mini marshmallows, extra walnuts, and sprinkles.

Tips

• Add mini chocolate chips to the batter for extra texture.

• Chill the frosting 10 minutes before piping for best stability.

• Use a cupcake corer or small knife to fill cupcakes cleanly.