Marshmallow Sauce
Let's say you have made a big, delicious batch of strawberry gelato. And although you've enjoyed it on its own, you've started to wonder how it would work in sundae form. You don't want to eclipse the brightness of the fresh strawberry flavor with something as assertive as hot fudge, so you think, Hmm, how about marshmallow sauce?
You pull out your favorite cookbook for ice cream toppings and read the recipe for marshmallow sauce. You see it includes gelatin, which is a no-go for a member of your family who is an enthusiastic fan of (a) marshmallow sauce, (b) strawberry gelato, and (c) eating food in most forms, but who is a vegetarian.
You decide to read up on marshmallow sauce and see if it's possible to adapt a recipe for vegetarian consumption. Good news ~ it is!
This recipe, which I adapted from this one from What's Cooking America, produces a marshmallow sauce that is so close to store-bought it's amazing. It's absurdly simple to make, and the result is light, fluffy, spreadable, and ooey-gooey. The recipe does, however, call for a raw egg white, so depending on your comfort level about such things, this may not be the recipe for you. I tend to be extremely cautious about such things (you can ask my husband ~ he'll tell you I tend to cook pork chops and chicken breasts to a state of doneness called "jerky"), but I am okay with the little bit of egg white in this recipe for reasons I describe in the recipe notes. If you're not, please skip this one ~ trust me, the gelato is very nice on its own.
Marshmallow Sauce
- 1 egg white
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- Pinch salt
- 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whip attachment affixed, combine egg white, corn syrup, and salt. Whip the corn-syrup mixture on high speed until it is light, fluffy, and roughly twice its original volume.
- Turn your mixer off and spoon in the confectioner's sugar. Beat on low speed until sugar is blended into the corn syrup mixture. Add vanilla and beat in.
Spoon marshmallow sauce over ice cream; use it as a fondue for chocolate-covered graham crackers, fruit, and cookies; or top a peanut butter sandwich with it. Refrigerated, it will keep for about 2 weeks.
Makes about 2 cups of sauce.
Recipe Notes
- The USDA recommends that raw eggs not be consumed due to the risk of contracting salmonella poisoning. That said, if you are a daring and reckless sort who plays it fast and loose and you want to try this recipe, there are a few things you can do to minimize your risk (if you care to). Purchase Grade AA eggs from a reputable (i.e., "clean") source (ideally a local farm), do not use any eggs with cracked or damaged shells, refrigerate your eggs at a consistent temperature of about 38 degrees F, and wash your eggs with soapy water before cracking them. This will prevent bacteria present on the shell from contaminating the yolk and white.
- It is possible to purchase pasteurized eggs. They come in a variety of forms ~ in the shells, in cartons, as yolks or whites only. These have been treated with heat, but not cooked, to kill bacteria.
- Young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems are discouraged from eating raw eggs at all.
Never thought to make marshmallow sauce! How fun!!
ReplyDeletewow, thanks for doing the work on this one. I will have to give it a whirl. looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteOr...how about eating this all on it's own?
ReplyDelete~Peter: Yes, I've successfully experimented with that application. It's a go. ;)
ReplyDeleteOooh this looks like it would be good in an updated version of smores. Maybe smores cake? Chocolate cake with graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow sauce frosting? YUM, drooling at my desk just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I never answered your Twitter DM from this weekend. I grew up in NJ and now I live in the NYC area :)
Local eggs and eggs from far away carry the same risk. The only way you can be sure they're safe is if they're pasteurized. If you're lucky, you can get Davidson's at the store -- check out the store locator at safeeggs.com.
ReplyDeleteI would be more than willing to ignore the fact that there is raw egg white in there. Yum! What a great idea to use it as a fondue.
ReplyDeleteEmily
I have been wanting a homemade marshmellow for my fudge. THANK you. The marshmellow will get cooked so I'm not too worried about the eggs.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to work up the courage to try making homemade marshmallows...maybe I'll try this first to get the hang of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe!
That sauce looks heavenly. Perfect for a fluffer nutter sandwich!
ReplyDeleteI can think of about a zillion things to put this sauce on, including... a spoon! Thanks for the recipe! Yum!!
ReplyDeleteOh nice! I like to do children's birthday cakes with marshmallow filling (chocolate cakes, especially). Kids go nuts over it, and this recipe looks perfect!
ReplyDeleteYet one more good reason for me to finally dispose of that jar of marshmallow fluff that's been sitting in my pantry for I don't know how long! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! This looks so great. I just love marshmallow cream. In college there was a custard shop in town that served marshmallow Sprite. It was a fountain Sprite with marshmallow cream as a flavoring. Sounds weird, but it was so good!
ReplyDeleteWhat luscious texture. Sounds really good with the chocolate graham crackers, for obvious reasons :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool! My son loves marshmallo cream, peanut butter and banana sandwiches so this would be perfect. And I'm thinking it needs to go in Whoopie Pies, too : )
ReplyDeleteI love making rice crispy treats with the marshmallow "fluff" you buy in stores. This would probably work well too!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how using eggs and not gelatin makes this vegetarian. Last time I checked, eggs were an animal product. Use Agar agar in place of traditional gelatin, It's made from seaweed. Also, raw eggs are never a good idea.
ReplyDeleteNathanell: Thanks for taking the time to comment. This marshmallow sauce is suitable for vegetarians but not for vegans. Vegetarians often use eggs, milk, and cheese to obtain the dietary protein they need. Vegans, on the other hand, choose not to consume anything produced by animals, like eggs or milk, and that would also include honey.
ReplyDeleteRegarding raw eggs, if you're sensitive to it, yes, absolutely, you should avoid eating raw eggs ~ or you can seek out pasteurized egg whites at the market.
You can also coddle the egg, thereby sanitizing it. Heat some water just to a simmer. Place the egg in a cup. Pour the water over the egg and leave it for 2 minutes. You may have some white that has coagulated but not enough to ruin the recipe. Any white that has set will whisk out while on the mixer. I teach cooking to senior citizens so avoid raw eggs.
ReplyDelete