Tag Archives: Marshmallow

Pop Frenzy

Posted on February 28, 2011 | 2 Comments

Marshmallow Pops


Cake Pops

Cake Pops and the like are all the rage these days it seems.  Bakerella has a great site with tons of different ideas, if you haven’t checked it out, you definitely should!   I recently helped out with two baby showers and decided to do pops for the favors.  For the first shower, I used marshmallows and dipped them in melted white chocolate that I had colored pink and added sprinkles.  For the second, I did a devil’s food cake pop, dipped in chocolate topped with sprinkles.  For the record, the marshmallow pops are much easier and less time consuming!  The cake pops taste yummy though – you might remember them from my previous post about cupcake balls – same idea, just a different presentation.

For cake pops, it’s pretty simple – bake a cake, cool it and crumble it.  Mix the crumbles with a tub of frosting and roll into balls.  Chill the balls and then dip into your desired melted, dipping chocolate.  I recommend buying a regular semisweet baking chocolate and melting on the stove top with a little shortening over using the chocolate candy melts.  This provides a thinner chocolate for dipping and I had way fewer disasters with this.  The cake pops can be heavy, so the thinner the chocolate the better for dipping, lest you lose many a ball to the chocolate abyss.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , ,

Homemade Marshmallows

Posted on December 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

I have always wanted to try my hand at making marshmallows but honestly, found it to be daunting.  Much to my pleasant surprise, it was very easy and they came out just fine!  I cannot say it is easier than purchasing a bag at the store, but I do think they are better and I love the homemade, rustic element they provide.

I hunted around the internet to find a recipe to use and ended up using a combination of Alton Brown’s and Smitten Kitchen’s recipes, with a little bit of self-taught wisdom thrown in!  Generally, I found most recipes to be similar to one another.

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS

Ingredients:

Confectioners Sugar

4 Envelopes of Unflavored Gelatin

1 Cup of Cold Water

2 Cups Sugar (granulated)

1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/4 Tsp Salt

2 Large Egg Whites

1 TBS Vanilla

Directions:

1.  Spray a 13x9x2 pan with canola oil.  I used a glass pan but silicone and metal can also be used from what I understand.

2.  You will need to sprinkle the bottom and sides of the pan with confectioner’s sugar, but I recommend waiting to do this closer to the time you will transfer the marshmallow mixture into it.

3.  Place 1/2 Cup of cold water and gelatin in the bowl of your electric mixture.  Let it sit, no need to stir.

4.  In heavy saucepan, over low heat, cook the granulated sugar, corn syrup, water and salt until sugar is dissolved, stirring with a wooden spoon.

5.  Increase the heat to medium and bring mixture to a boil – DO NOT STIR.  Boil until your candy thermometer reads 240 degrees.  I did not use a thermometer, left it on about 10 minutes and eyeballed for color and consistency.  (I know, I know…)

6.  Remove mixture from heat and pour over the gelatin mixture in the mixer bowl, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

7.  Beat mixture on high, until mixture is thick and white – it will triple in volume.

8.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with hand mixer until still peaks form.

9.  Add egg whites and vanilla to the sugar mixture and beat until just combined.

10.  Pour mixture into oiled and confectioner sugar dusted baking dish, spread evenly.

11.  Sift more confectioner’s sugar over the top, about a 1/4 – 1/2 Cup.

12.  Chill mixture uncovered at least three hours, but up to one day.  I let mine sit overnight and this worked very well.

13.  After completely chilled, run a knife around the edges of pan.  Invert pan over a large cutting board and using the knife of your fingers, help the marshmallow mixture out of the pan.

14.  Cut the marshmallows into pieces of your desired size.  (I did 1/2 inch pieces.)  I highly recommend using an oiled pizza cutter for this over a knife, but that was my personal preference.

15.  Roll the marshmallows in more confectioner’s sugar and store in an airtight container for up to one week.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged ,

Butterscotch Hot Chocolate

Posted on December 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

A warm, tasty adult treat for the holiday season.  This recipe was given to me by a good friend, Jen, some years ago and it’s my favorite hot chocolate!  It’s the perfect combo of creamy, chocolaty and buttery!  The original calls to be topped with whipped cream but I felt like marshmallows when I made this batch – both are good!

BUTTERSCOTCH HOT CHOCOLATE

Ingredients:

5 Cups Half & Half

3/4 Cup of Chocolate Syrup

1/2 Cup of Butterscotch Schnapps

Whipped Cream or Marshmallows for topping (optional)

Carmel Sauce or Powdered Cocoa for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.  Heat the Half & Half, Schnapps and Chocolate syrup until hot but not boiling, making sure you mix well.

2.  Pour into mugs and top how you desire.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Purple Velvet Cake

Posted on November 15, 2010 | 3 Comments

For as long as I can remember, my mom has loved the color purple.  We celebrated her birthday this weekend and I was in charge of making the cake.  She requested a red velvet cake.  I figured that the ‘red’ part was primarily from food coloring, so I could make any color velvet cake and I wanted.  I thought I’d surprise her and attempt a purple velvet cake.  I was a little bit worried about how the coloring was actually going to come out.  Purple, when baked, can often come out as a really unappetizing brownish color.  And since I couldn’t bring an already cut cake to a party, I just had to cross my fingers and hope it would come out purple.  I was pleased that it did!  It was a very dark purple, but it was definitely purple!  Woo hoo!  Oh, and my mom does not care for cream cheese frosting so she requested something different, something ‘plain and white’.  So I went with a marshmallow/seven minute type frosting which I used on my Coconut Cream Cupcakes, and I thought it worked out okay – I’m a lover of cream cheese frosting though!  This recipe is adapted from my sister’s mother-in-law’s Red Velvet Cake- an old family recipe.

Not the best frosting job, I was in a rush to get it finished and on the road!

PURPLE VELVET  CAKE

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter, softened

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

Purple Food Coloring (to desired color)

1 Tsp Vanilla

2 Tsp Cocoa

1 Tsp Salt

2 1/4 Cake Flour

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Vinegar

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour bundt pan.

2.  Cream butter, sugar and eggs.

3.  Add food coloring, vanilla and cocoa to the creamed mixture.

4.  Add salt, flour, and buttermilk, alternately.

5.  Add soda and vinegar.

6.  Pour mixture into bundt pan and bake 38-40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

7.  Let cake cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before turning out onto cake platter or wired rack to finish cooling.

8.  Frost as desired and serve!

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

Mocha Marshmallow Cupcakes

Posted on September 29, 2010 | Leave a comment

It is amazing how many things I learn on Facebook.  For instance, today is National Coffee Day.  Instead of boring you with a picture of me in the kitchen with my Keurig or in line at Starbucks, I thought I’d spin this post a little bit differently.  Being the foo-foo coffee drinker that I am, my brew of choice is usually a mocha or some derivative of one.  I don’t think I’ve ever had straight black coffee in all my life and I don’t really plan to.

I do, however,  love eating and making cupcakes!  A few years ago, I had one of Sprinkles’ chocolate marshmallow cupcakes and loved it.   Naturally, I wanted to change it up a bit.  I thought that a mocha cupcake with the marshmallow filling would be wonderful.  The cake and frosting recipes are not my own, I pieced it together to create what I thought would be a yummy cupcake.  The Mocha Madness Cupcake comes from The Ultimate Cupcake Manual and the Marshmallow Frosting comes from Dozen Flours.

I served these at an Easter Brunch and they went over well.  They were really rich so everyone was happy.  They didn’t have an overly mocha taste in the cake but overall, it came together and was very decadent.  Even if you are not a big coffee fan and just a lover of good old chocolate, you would be very happy with these!

MOCHA MARSHMALLOW CUPCAKES

Ingredients For the Cupcakes:

6 TBS Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 Egg

1/3 Cup Espresso, Chilled

1/2 Cup Buttermilk

2 TBS Vegetable Oil

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Filling:

1 Jar of Jet Puffed Marshmallow Fluff

For the Frosting:

2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

6 Large Marshmallows or 3/4 Cup Marshmallow Fluff

4 TBS Butter

1/4 Cup Whole Milk or Whipping Cream

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions

1.  Pre-heat Oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan with liners.

2.  Sift together the cocoa, flour, sugars, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

3.  Combine the espresso, buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth, then add to the dry mixture.

4.  Stir mixtures together until smooth and pour into cupcake liners.  (I fill mine about 2/3 full.)

5.  Bake for 18-20 mins, ovens will vary.  Cake will spring back to the touch.  Cool cupcakes in pan and then transfer to a wire rack.

6.  Fill a piping bag with the marshmallow fluff.  Insert tip into the top of the cupcake and fill.  Let stand while you make the frosting.

7.  To make the frosting, sift the sugar and cocoa powder together in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

8.  In a medium sauce pan, over low heat, add marshmallows (or fluff), butter and milk/cream.  Stir until melted, about 3 minutes.

9.  Remove pan from heat.

10.  Add the sugar/cocoa powder mixture and vanilla into the marshmallow mixture.  Stir until smooth, it should have a satin finish.

11.  Frost the cooled cupcakes with warm frosting and let sit.  (Note:  I prefer to dip the tops of the cupcakes into the frosting than use a frosting knife.)

12.  Once the frosting is set, I put a dollop of marshmallow fluff in the middle and garnish with a chocolate covered espresso bean.

Makes approximately a dozen cupcakes.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,