Birthday Cake Marshmallows

Ok, let's get this out in the open right now.  I LOVE marshmallows.  I think this love stems from when I was a kid and my Mom would use marshmallows as a bribe to get me to take my ear infection medicine.

On an unrelated note - was I the only kid to get ear infections constantly?  I remember at one point my Doctor telling me that I was not allowed to have any more ear infections because he was tired of treating me.

Maybe I made that up.  I was an imaginative kid.

So anyways, I found this recipe on Pinterest while Dude and I were in Arizona and it's been on my to-do list ever since.  Last weekend, I picked up a candy thermometer and I knew it was marshmallow time; and can I say, this recipe does not disappoint.  The marshmallows turn out light and fluffy, with just the right amount of cake flavor.

If you want to make them yourself, here's what you'll need:

• 2x 1 cup of caster sugar (I'll show you how to make your own out of granulated sugar)
• 2x 2 teaspoons of light corn syrup
• 2x 1 tablespoon of gelatine powder
• 2x 1 large egg whites
• 2 Tbs vanilla cake mix, sifted
• 4 Tbs chocolate cake mix, sifted
• Sprinkles
• Candy thermometer
• Vegetable oil or spray butter for greasing
• Icing sugar for dusting finished marshmallows

I made my marshmallows in two layers - a "cake" and a "frosting" layer.  If you don't want to go through the trouble, or if you're a marshmallow racist and don't like chocolate or vanilla, you can just make one thick layer in the flavor of your choice.  The directions below are to make two layers.

First up, cover a 9x9 pan with parchment paper and grease it really well.  I used a vegetable oil spray, but I think a butter spray or straight butter or vegetable oil would work just fine.

If you live in a hick town like me and can't find caster sugar anywhere, don't fret!  Caster sugar is just superfine sugar and you can make it by throwing regular granulated sugar in a food processor for a couple minutes.

To be honest, I don't think this step is 100% essential, but the perfectionist in me struggles to not follow a recipe exactly.

So the next step is to melt together 1 cup of your sugar and 2tsp of corn syrup with 100ml of water.  Why 100ml?  Because that's what my inspiration recipe called for and I can't do conversions.

Last time I attempted to convert something from metric to US, I used a half-gallon of milk in a recipe that was really calling for close to a quart.

So now that we can agree I'm an idiot.  Dump 1 cup of your sugar into a saucepan.

Then add two teaspoons of corn syrup.

And 100ml of water.

Set the burner to low and simmer until all of the sugar is melted.  

While you're waiting, measure out 100ml of water and pour it into a small bowl and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of plain gelatine over the top and let it sit while your sugar melts.  This ended up being roughly a packet and a half for me.

Once the sugar has melted, break out your candy thermometer and clip it to the side of the saucepan.  Increase the heat to medium high and boil until the temperature reaches 250° F.

When the temperature reaches 250°, immediately remove the pan from the heat and set it to the side while you complete the next step.

Separate one large egg white and pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer.  You can still make this recipe if you don't have a stand mixer, it'll just take a bit longer. 

Plus, think of how ripped your guns will be if you use a hand mixer.

Start the mixer at medium speed.

While the mixer is going, pour the now jiggly gelatine and water goo to the hot sugar mix.

Whisk them together until smooth.

Time to start moving, the sugar/gelatine mix will start to get super sticky and gooey pretty quickly.

Bump up the speed on your mixer to high and gradually add the hot sugar mixture to your egg.

Really slowly kids, unless you want to try scrambled egg marshmallows.

Wait, we may be on to something...savory marshmallows...  Someone else try this and tell me how it goes.

Beat the egg and sugar until it's glossy and white.  This took me probably 3 or 4 minutes.  With a hand mixer, I imagine it will take closer to 6-8 minutes.  (Think of your ripped biceps!  So worth it!)

When the stuff in your mixer bowl starts to look like marshmallow fluff, turn the mixer off and fold in 2 tablespoons of sifted white cake mix.  You can always add more if you want a more "cakey" flavor.

Then fold in as many sprinkles as you want.  I added 3 tablespoons.

Pour the gooey marshmallow fluff into your prepared pan and put it in the fridge while you make the chocolate layer.

Rinse and Repeat to make the chocolate layer.

Combine 1 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of corn syrup and 100ml of water.  Heat over low heat until the sugar is melted.

Meanwhile, measure out 100ml of water again and pour it in a small bowl.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of gelatine over the water and let it sit while your sugar melts.

When the sugar is melted, bump the heat up and boil until a candy thermometer reads 250° F.

After that, immediately remove from the heat.  Separate an egg white and put it in your stand mixer.

Whisk the gelatine into the hot sugar; and when it is smooth, gradually add it to the mixing bowl with the egg white.

Let that sucker mix until you have a big old bowl of marshmallow fluff.   Or work your arms again.  Then you have a free pass to not feel guilty about licking the beaters and the spatula.

Actually I used a stand mixer and I will never feel guilty about licking the spatula.  That's just a rule I live by.  

Then add in your sifted chocolate cake mix.

Notice the tiny-ass bowl I was using here to sift the cake mix.  If you look closely, you can see the giant-ass mess I made on the counter underneath it.

Pour the chocolate marshmallow layer on top of the vanilla layer and put it back in the fridge to chill overnight.

Now, avoid turning around and looking at your kitchen for as long as you can.  And when you do, just know that I feel your pain.

When the marshmallows are good and chilly, you are less than an hour away from all the marshmallowy goodness you can handle.

The next steps are to cut the marshmallows and give them a light coat of powdered sugar to keep them from sticking together.  You can do this by either individually rolling each cut marshmallow in a bowl of powdered sugar...

...or put a little powdered sugar in a plastic bag and dump all your cut marshmallows in there and shake it up.

You can cut your square of marshmallows however you like with a greased knife, but Dude and I found that spraying some spray butter on a pizza cutter was by far the simplest method.

Set your cut and powdered marshmallows on a baking sheet and leave them to dry for an hour.

I know, I know, longest 60 minutes of your life.

To be honest, I didn't taste any difference between the marshmallows straight out of the powdered sugar and the ones that had dried for an hour and the ones that sat in the fridge for 3 days so all you rebels out there, feel free to disregard this final step.

In the name of science, I decided to make a s'more out of these marshmallows.  Check out what happens when you heat up homemade marshmallows.

Still good, just not really gooey like a store-bought marshmallow.

Worth every calorie.
Background Noise for this Project: House of Cards - Season 1, Episode 10:  Chapter 10

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