A few month ago I made homemade marshmallows for the first time. They were fluffy and airy and incredibly easy to make. I used them in some awesome s'mores ice cream sandwiches and was totally smitten with the fact that I could make my own marshmallows from now on. Fast forward to now and I've found my new marshmallow-y obsession: Homemade Marshmallow Creme.
It's smooth, glossy, creamy, and fluffy, and I love it.
Just like marshmallows, Marshmallow Creme is a breeze to make. In fact, I think making Marshmallow Creme might even be easier (which is a little dangerous when you think about it). Whip up some egg whites, make a sugar syrup, combine the two, and whip, whip, whip your way to marshmallow heaven. That's basically the gist of it, for reals. :) And since marshmallow creme doesn't have to "set" like marshmallows do, you can be spooning this stuff into your mouth straight away - I mean, ahem, using it in a recipe. Of course there's a recipe coming up - I always have an ulterior motive. ;)
I think I should mention that I happen to know a marshmallow LOVER who claimed full rights on the marshmallow creme-covered beater, spatula, and spoon once I was done making this stuff. I'm pretty sure that means it gets a huge stamp of approval.
PrintDIY Marshmallow Creme
This homemade Marshmallow Cream is incredibly easy to make. Plus, it's so perfectly thick, fluffy, creamy, and glossy, you'll wonder why you ever bothered buying it from the store!
- Yield: about 5 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅓ cup water
- 5 ½ ounces granulated sugar, divided (¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 9 ounces light corn syrup (¾ cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the cream of tartar over. Beat, increasing the speed to medium-high, until the eggs starts to get light, airy, and frothy. With the mixer running, slowly pour in ⅞ ounce (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar. Continue to beat until firm (but not stiff) peaks form. Set aside.
- Fit a small saucepan with a candy thermometer, or have a reliable digital thermometer ready nearby. Combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in the saucepan and stir together. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and then, using a heat-safe spatula, stir very frequently as you cook the syrup mixture to 240°F, maintaining a consistent boil. Once at 240°F, remove from the heat immediately.
- Start the mixer on second speed and slowly pour the syrup in as it mixes until all of the syrup has been added. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl if needed, and then increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 5 minutes. The mixture should have expanded and you should now have a white creme that's able to hold some shape. Add the vanilla, wipe down the bowl and beater, and beat for about 1 more minute, until the mixture is even in color again and has reached the desired consistency of marshmallow creme.
- Store creme in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Recipe Adapted From: Kimberly Reiner via Martha Stewart
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2013
Janet Paula says
How long will the Marshmallow Creme last in the refrigerator?
alexandra says
I had mine in the fridge for about a month and it was fine!
Annie says
My 14 year old daughter made this as a filling for her snickerdoodle whoopie pies. It was perfect. She enters them into the county fair today!
alexandra says
That's awesome! That sounds like a delicious combo too; I hope she wins!! :)
Susie says
Lovely taste, but mine went crunchy! Definitely not right. Any thoughts why that might be?!
alexandra says
Hmm, did you make any substitutions to the recipe? Was the whole thing hard or were there just crunchy bits mixed in?
Raelene says
When I added the heated syrup into my mixer it started to clump and did not mix completely. Any suggestions?
alexandra says
It sounds to me like perhaps you added the syrup a little too fast. You really want to make sure that you add it in a slow stream as the mixer is moving. If the whipped egg whites looked fine before you added the syrup, that would be my best guess! Hope that helps. :)
Hattie says
Hey this looks amazing!! Just wondering how long it will keep for? I want to make it now but have nothing to use it for just yet!! :)
alexandra says
A good 3-4 weeks at least. I would love to hear what you do with it when you decide!
Hattie says
I used it for a chocolate frosting recipe and it was to die for!! I can't give you the exact recipe because I modified it loads as I was going along and forgot to write it down!! Think it had the full batch of this plus 3/4 cup of cocoa, 1/2 cup butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, some melted milk chocolate and some coffee essence! But it is AMAZING!! And the marshmallow creme on it's own was sooooooo good I litereally started eating it with a spoon!!
alexandra says
Oh my goodness, that sounds incredible!! I should definitely try that sometime! Thanks so much for sharing and I'm so glad you liked the marshmallow creme. It's certainly highly spoonable :)
Wendy says
Is this stiff enough to hold up to frosting cupcakes? or can I make it stiffer?
Looks wonderful!
alexandra says
When I first made the marshmallow creme, it seemed fairly stiff (stiff enough for cupcakes); as you can see from the photos, I was able to pipe a tip that held it's shape. After a few days though, it seemed to get a little softer, but that may have been my imagination. What you can do is make the marshmallow creme, and if it doesn't turn out to be stiff enough, you could try using it in a recipe for marshmallow frosting. There are a few marshmallow frosting recipes online that have marshmallow creme as one of the ingredients. Hope that helps a bit!
Melissa Klotz says
What a cool idea!! I haven't seen homemade fluff yet. And it supports that jar of cream of tartar I bought, thinking I'd use all the time and never have...
Thanks for sharing!!
alexandra says
Thanks! Yup... It will use a tiny little bit of that cream of tartar. ;) It's SO GOOD though, you have to try it!
sally @ sallys baking addiction says
OMG I had no idea how to make marshmallow creme at home and I'm so happy I can make it now. homemade is always better. :)
alexandra says
Yup! SO easy! And I agree. :)
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
I need this in my life. Homemade is always best and although this is probably super sticky to deal with, totally worth it!
alexandra says
A little sticky, but honestly not as bad as I expected! Marshmallows are hard because they're sticky AND they set fast, but with the creme, you don't have the setting issue so that somehow helps. It's definitely worth it!
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
I am jealous! I want this marshmallow creme! It looks so white and fluffy. Great job photographing it too: it's so hard to capture white objects the right way.
alexandra says
Haha thanks Julia! The photos were a little challenging, especially because I wanted to go with the white-on-white to emphasize the cloud-like quality of the fluff. I'm glad you like the finished product!
Rachel (teacher-chef) says
Anything where a candy thermometer is involved makes me super nervous! This looks like it would be worth getting over my fear for though, AMAZING photos making me want fresh fluff for breakfast!
alexandra says
That's why I like using a digital thermometer! (I use a Thermapen and it's a lot more straightforward and simple than dealing with a candy thermometer.) But honestly, this fluff is SO easy to make and totally worth it. :) And thank you so much for the photo compliment!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Wow, your homemade version looks lick-the-spoon worthy! Can't wait to see how you use it!
sandra rose says
OMG, this is lovely!
Erika says
Omg. I'm not even a marshmallow person most of the time but I want to stuff a spoonful of this in my mouth! Yum! And that does sound super easy--I'll have to try this as a frosting or filling sometime soon! I always want to make s'mores-type desserts, but I never have marshmallows/marshmallow creme on hand!
alexandra says
I'm not so much a marshmallow person usually as a marshmallow-with-something person, if that makes sense?! Like s'mores... that could be my life, thank you :) But this fluff is so light and yummy you just want to spoon it up!
Ashley says
Making marshmallow fluff at home is definitely on my must-try list! I finally tackled homemade marshmallows over the holidays and realized how much I like them (I was never a big fan of any of the store-bought ones)... I need to try this next!
alexandra says
You should do it! I love making marshmallows and marshmallow fluff just because it's so much fun to see it turn all white and fluffy before your eyes. :) Plus it really does taste good homemade!