This marshmallow meringue frosting recipe is like a homemade version of marshmallow fluff! It's marshmallow fluff but ✨fancy✨. Made with just 5 simple ingredients, this marshmallow frosting can be piped onto cupcakes, cakes, or pies. You can toast it with a blowtorch or your broiler to get that beautiful toasted effect. No corn syrup required!
When I was developing my browned butter pumpkin pie recipe, I knew it needed a marshmallow topping, and this marshmallow meringue frosting is exactly that.
It's like marshmallow fluff, but better: no corn syrup, no preservatives, just egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. That's it! The process is just like making Swiss meringue buttercream (like in my chocolate cake with strawberry filling), only we skip the butter.
All you do is gently heat the ingredients over a double boiler until the sugar dissolves, then whip them up into glossy, stiff peaks. From there, you can pipe it onto cupcakes, sandwich it between cookies, or swirl it over pies and toast it.
I've also used this as a frosting for my pumpkin spice cupcakes and my hot cocoa cupcakes!
Just 5 Ingredients!
- Egg Whites: Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature (but it is easier to separate eggs when they're cold!)
- Sugar: Granulated sugar will sweeten the frosting.
- Cream of Tartar: This is a must have ingredient, you can't skip it! It will help stabilize the egg whites.
Let's Make This Frosting!
Step 1
Place the egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl over a small saucepan with an inch or two of simmering water. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat.
Step 2
Place in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or use a handheld mixer. Add the vanilla. Whisk on high speed for around 5 minutes, until you get stiff, glossy peaks.
Step 3
Spread over your baked good (or pipe it!) and enjoy! At this point, you can toast it with a blowtorch.
Ella's Tips, Tricks, & More
- Clean Bowl: You want your bowl to not only be safe to use over hot water but also be completely clean. If there are any bits of fat or grease, you won't get stiff peaks in the meringue.
- Filling Cakes: Because this meringue isn't super stiff, I don't recommend using it as a cake filling. You can, however, frost the outsides of a cake!
- No Blowtorch? If you don't have a blowtorch, you can use a broiler. You need to be extra careful because it can go from toasty to burnt in a matter of seconds. I've also found the color isn't as brown as a blowtorch, so keep that in mind!
Recipes to Use with Homemade Marshmallow Fluff
- Top chocolate cupcakes or browned butter cupcakes with it.
- Spread on top of homemade brownies.
- Pipe on top of red velvet cake
- Make oatmeal creme pies with my favorite oatmeal coconut cookies.
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Marshmallow Meringue Frosting
Ingredients
Marshmallow Frosting
- 4 large (120 grams) egg whites room temperature
- ¾ cup (175 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Marshmallow Frosting
- Place the egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl - I prefer using a metal bowl for this.4 large (120 grams) egg whites, ¾ cup (175 grams) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, pinch salt
- Fill a saucepan with an inch or two of water on the stove and place over medium-low heat, so the water begins to simmer. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
- Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves. It'll go from thick to frothy. To test, I like to (carefully!) lift the whisk up and rub the mixture between my fingers. You shouldn't feel any of the sugar.
- Take the bowl off the double boiler and place in your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a handheld mixer). Add the vanilla.1 teaspoon vanilla
- Beat on high speed for 5 minutes, or until you get stiff and glossy peaks.
- Frost your cupcakes, cake, or pie with the marshmallow frosting. Optional, but use a kitchen torch to toast the frosting and enjoy!
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