Marshmallows have been on my “to make” list for years now, ever since a woman at our elementary school made them for our family dance, and they were fantastic. I still haven’t gotten around to make them, but I will. Instead, I was inspired by another idea to make homemade marshmallow fluff because, yum.. right? Except I try not to eat too many things that have as many ingredients as marshmallow fluff does. The fact that it can sit on my shelf for months after being opened and still be considered edible sort of grosses me out. So of course I made my own.
I’m regretting it just a little bit. That’s not to say that my experiment wasn’t tasty. Quite the opposite, and that’s the problem. I made homemade marshmallow fluff and now all I want to do it eat it. I don’t care if it’s licking off the beater (done), licking out the bowl (done), or oh, I don’t know, just eating it with a spoon. Then there’s my bright idea of making the best s’mores in the world using the marshmallow fluff, graham crackers, and Nutella. Save me.
I’m already planning to pawn off some of it on my son’s teacher who I know appreciates good food. Forget the fact that he’s on a diet (and doing well). This is one of those things you make an exception for. And he’s got kids, so they can enjoy it, too. The rest of it will have to be hidden in the back of my refrigerator in the hopes that I forget that I made it. Not likely. This recipe made about 5 cups or so of marshmallow fluff, which would be perfect to use as filling for a cake or even frosting for cupcakes. You could cut down the recipe, but it’s so easy to make and uses so few ingredients, that I’m ok with making a little more and sharing my bounty. If I did this with only one egg, I don’t feel like I’d get it whipped up as well, and the quality would suffer.
For this recipe, I didn’t want to use corn syrup, which is part of what many recipes call for to create a smooth, glossy finish. We don’t tend to eat corn syrup here in general. I thought about making it without any similar product – and I may yet play with that idea – but I hit upon the idea of using agave nectar, since it was sitting in my pantry staring me in the face. I also rejected the idea I’ve seen in some places of cooking the egg and sugar together in a double boiler to avoid scrambling the eggs, but to keep the sugar texture from getting grainy over time, it really needs to get to the soft ball stage, and eggs can’t be cooked that high. So much for my idea of saving a bowl. (Apologies in advance to my husband for the sink of dishes he has today – it’s worth it, I promise!)
This is a great marshmallow fluff recipe, and it tastes great on its own. I used vanilla bean paste as the only flavoring, aside from salt. I could see this being made with cinnamon, cocoa, or even java extract to give it some great fun flavor and make it even more unique. This just might be what I bring to the next Chicago Food Swap. It’s that good.
Homemade Marshmallow Fluff
The homemade marshmallow fluff may sound a little scary, but I promise it comes together quickly. Invest in a candy thermometer (they’re cheap and that’s an affiliate link, meaning if you buy it I earn a few pennies) that ensures you know when to stop cooking the sugar, and have a little patience for this to whip together, and you’ll love what you end up with.
To start, separate your eggs, and place the whites into a clean bowl. Save the yolks for another recipe. My recommndation? Either pineapple curd or lemon curd. Use them a a dip for fruit or filling for cake or – gasp – mix them with your homemade marshmallow fluff, and you’ll truly be in heaven!
Back to the homemade marshmallow fluff. In a saucepan larger than you think you will need – this expands as it boils up – add the sugar, agave nectar or honey, and water. You can use corn syrup, but I like it best with honey or agave. Turn the heat to medium and gently swirl the pan every 30 seconds or so to mix the ingredients together. Use a pastry brush to wash the sides with water to ensure no sugar crystals are adhering to the side of your pan. Those will cause your marshmallow fluff to be grainy later.
While your sugar is cooking, beat your egg whites to a soft peak, no more. This will take just a couple minutes, so watch them. Once they’re done, they can rest for the few minutes the sugar mixture will take to finish.
Bring the sugar mixture to a boil, and add your candy thermometer. Because you are using agave nectar or honey, you need to watch the temperature, as the change in color won’t signify here. Cook to 240 degrees.
Once the sugar mixture is at 240 degrees, remove it immediately from the heat. Turn your mixer on low and add just a dribble of the sugar mixture to your eggs to temper them. You want to heat them slowly so that they incorporate the mixture without scrambling. Do this two to three times, then pour all the sugar mixture in slowly while beating.
Once the sugar syrup is all added, turn your mixter to medium. Add the salt and vanilla bean paste, and turn the mixer to high. Beat for 5 or so minutes, until the fluff has gotten thick and glossy. It will start out steaming with you thinking you made a mistake, but you’ll quickly see that it incorporates perfectly and beats to a beautiful consistency.
Store in a sealed container in your fridge (hello, eggs) for up to a week, if it lasts that long.
Homemade Marshmallow Fluff
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Separate your eggs, and place the whites into a clean bowl. Save the yolks for another recipe.
- In a saucepan larger than you think you will need - this expands as it boils up - add the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Turn the heat to medium and gently swirl the pan every 30 seconds or so to mix the ingredients together. Use a pastry brush to wash the sides with water to ensure no sugar crystals are adhering to the side of your pan.3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup, 1/4 cup water
- While your sugar is cooking, beat your egg whites to a soft peak, no more. This will take just a couple minutes, so watch them. Once they're done, they can rest for the few minutes the sugar mixture will take to finish.3 egg whites
- Bring the sugar mixture to a boil, and add your candy thermometer. Cook to 240 degrees.
- Once the sugar mixture is at 240 degrees, remove it immediately from the heat. Turn your mixer on low and add just a dribble of the sugar mixture to your eggs to temper them. You want to heat them slowly so that they incorporate the mixture without scrambling. Do this two to three times, then pour all the sugar mixture in slowly while beating.
- Once the sugar syrup is all added, turn your mixer to medium. Add the salt and vanilla, and turn the mixer to high. Beat for 5 or so minutes, until the fluff has gotten thick and glossy.1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla
Notes
- Store in a sealed container in your fridge (hello, eggs) for up to a week, if it lasts that long.
- You can make this with honey, agave syrup, or corn syrup. All work equally well.
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.
Are you able to use Swerve instead of sugar or Agave?
I have never tried a different sweetener for this, but it may work if you use it immediately. The biggest challenge is that Swerve tends to crystallize when you refrigerate it (how you should store this), so I suspect it would likely separate and crystallize once you have in the fridge for a day or so. But the ingredients overall are fairly cheap, so maybe worth a try? I’d love to hear how it works out if you try it!
Can this be used to fill macarons without it weeping after being filled and frozen? Also, if I want a more thick and stable texture, can I reduce the amount of water or what do you suggest?
So that is a really good question. I have never tried using this as a macaron filling. Nor have I frozen it. I cannot promise the results with either of those treatments, though it has not weeped when I’ve used it for a cake filling, inside strawberries, etc. I don’t see where this would be a huge issue though. With regards to the thickness, the water amount will not impact the final texture. Water boils at 212 degrees, and you bring this to 240, so it will have all evaporated. The water helps the sugar and corn syrup melt together more easily and helps avoid scorching. This actually turns out fairly thick – you can see that it holds a peak – but you can always beat it for an extra minute or two to encourage it to thicken further. A *little* gelatin added (bloomed in a bit of cold water) to your eggs before you add the hot sugar may also help, but I honestly don’t know that you even need that. I hope that helps!