Toasted Marshmallow Pound Cake
Hey guys!
We’re just over here creepin’ up on summer, and it’s about time to make everything taste like s’mores, amirite?
You guys know I’m into cake, and I’m into pound cake specifically like a lot. Here we are again. I’ve got an amazing recipe for toasted marshmallow cookie bars in my book Sugar High, but I wanted to know what else we could throw ’em into.
There’s a lot of s’mores flavored things out there, but I think very few of them are done well. If it’s not toasted marshmallows, it’s not right. So when you want to toast some indoors for a recipe like this, there’s a couple of options. If you have a torch, go at them. If you have a stove of any kind, you can put them on sticks and toast them over your burner (even electric stoves!) And if you want, you can lay them out on a pan and put them under the broiler in your oven, watching carefully. No matter what you do, get them good and browned, that flavor is important!
And all that said, since we’re going with vanilla cake here, the toasted marshmallows are definitely a subtle flavor in this one. Trust me though, everything comes together.
We’re using chocolate chunks here, which I love using in cake because when you chop, you get a bunch of different sized pieces and crumbs, and they scatter all through the cake, it’s good. That was a run-on, this is how I talk, okay? Also, IMPORTANT NOTE- don’t skip the step where you toss the chocolate chunks into a little bit of the flour mixture- it really matters for making sure the chocolate doesn’t all sink to the bottom. Life lessons you guys.
So. Instead of doing a typical chocolate cake here, we’re going vanilla with chocolate chunks and toasted marshmallow. Things get messy with marshmallow, and the easiest way to work it in evenly is to do it in the first step with the butter and sugar. You still might have some bits stuck to the side of the bowl, that’s totally fine, we’re managing.
This pound cake is a simple one, and it doesn’t rise too much in the oven, but you still need to make sure you’re using a 10-12 cup pan. As always, Bundt pans are tricky, and you need to be sure to grease it generously! Alternatively, you can also make this into two 9 inch loaf pans, works beautifully.
And so what we end up with is a beautiful pound cake, dense and close-crumbed, with chocolate pieces running throughout, and a little toasty, marshmallowy flavor in the background. Life is good, we’re eating cake, and have a good rest of the week you guys!
Toasted Marshmallow Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups softened butter
- 2 cups marshmallows (about 35 regular size) toasted
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate chunks
Instructions
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To toast the marshmallows- You can either use a kitchen torch to toast until golden, toast on a skewer over a turned-on burner of your stove, or place the marshmallows on a lined sheet pan and put under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes, or until toasted and puffed. Set the marshmallows aside to cool completely before starting the recipe.
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter, toasted marshmallows, and sugar until combined and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition until combined.
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Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture. Add in the flour mixture and the whole milk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture, and beat until the batter is smooth. Toss the reserved flour mixture with the chocolate chunks to coat, and fold the entire mixture (including any excess flour) into the batter until well distributed.
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Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and spread evenly. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. If the cake begins to get fairly dark, gently cover in foil to stop browning.
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Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a cake stand or cooling rack to finish cooling. Slice and enjoy!
Dulce de Leche Chocolate Meringue Pie
Hey everyone! It’s mid-week, and it’s pie time. I don’t make pies that often, and there’s a reason- it’s just a lot of work. Truth be told, I really am not a huge fan of recipes that involve rolling something out, and that includes pie crust. It is what it is guys.
But today, I gotta say, this pie is too good to not share. And I’m using a couple of shortcuts along the way to make that pie life a little bit more manageable. The first is, you guessed it, store-bought pie crust. I have a wonderful pie crust recipe that I love, but listen. I’m just not always ready to do the whole shebang. You guys get it, right? Right. So today we’re using that refrigerated, rolled up crust, and it’s legit really, REALLY good.
The other major shortcut I’m using here is canned dulce de leche. I’ve made it myself a few times, and it’s really good, but the canned stuff is really good too you guys. And more importantly, making it from scratch takes a LONG time. Even recipes that just use straight sweetened condensed milk usually require that you cook it for 3+ hours. It’s too much! We just want pie! One thing I do recommend is adding a healthy pinch of salt to the dulce de leche before spreading it into your pie crust- it goes a long way.
So, here’s how things come together on this one. First up, roll the crust into an oblong shape that fits into our rectangle tart pan. You can definitely use a round tart pan as well here, totally doable. Then, we’re blind baking the crust until it’s completely cooked. You will absolutely want to line the crust with foil, and then fill it with the pie weights of your choosing- either pie weights, beans, rice, or even sugar (it becomes lightly toasty, and it’s really nice to use later).
Up next is a healthy layer of our dulce. Spread it evenly in the bottom of your crust.
The dulce is thick enough that we can actually pour the chocolate layer right on top without any chilling. Onto that chocolate layer- it’s a simple ganache. You’ll use bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and heat it until super smooth and silky. Pour it over the crust, and chill for about an hour.
In the meantime, we’re topping this bad boy with a Swiss meringue. You cook the egg whites and cream of tartar, and sugar over a double broiler, and then you whip it up slowly while it cools, until it’s some beautiful silky cloud of sugar. Add a bit of vanilla, and a pinch of salt, and heap it high on the pie.
And then ya know, torch it baby! By the way, if you don’t have a torch, you can put under a broiler set oven, but keep a VERY close eye on it!
This is a very sweet pie you guys, it’s indulgent, and it’s totally worth it. Enjoy!
Dulce de Leche Chocolate Meringue Pie
Ingredients
For the dulce layer:
- 1 pie crust, fully baked and cooled, in a shallow tart pan
- 1 can dulce de leche
- 1/2 tsp. salt
For the chocolate layer:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. salt
For the meringue layer:
- 6 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp. salt
Instructions
For the dulce layer:
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In a small bowl, stir together the dulce de leche and salt until combined. Spread a generous, even layer into the bottom of your cooled crust. Set aside.
For the chocolate layer:
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In a microwave safe, medium bowl, heat the heavy cream until boiling in the microwave. Pour in the bittersweet chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to allow the chocolate to start melting, and then whisk until completely smooth. Pour over the dulce layer in the tart crust. Cover with plastic wrap, laying the plastic directly onto the chocolate layer, and chill for at least an hour.
For the meringue layer:
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In a large heat-safe bowl over a double-boiler, whisk the egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar for about 5-8 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a stand mixer, and whisk on medium speed for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture is cool, and has stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla and salt.
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Pile the meringue on top of the chilled pie, and use a fork to fluff the meringue and create peaks. Use a torch to toast the top of the meringue, or place the pie under a broiler in the oven for 2-3 minutes until it has become toasted. Enjoy!
Favorite Posts of 2017
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season this year!
I’ve never done one of these wrap-up posts, but I think they seem really fun so I’m going for it this year. 2017 has been a wonderful, exciting year in my personal life, and for this blog! I so appreciate all of you readers who take the time to look at my posts and bake my recipes.
So, here’s the top 4 recipes from my blog this year- these are the posts that you guys loved the most in 2017!
4. Celebration Cake– lightly sweet layers of vanilla pound cake with raspberry jam and chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream! I also got to share some exciting news about my upcoming book on this post, and it was wonderful to hear such support on social media from you all!
3. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Stuffed Monkey Bread– it’s exactly what it sounds like, and you should make it today if you haven’t already. I worked with Dion’s Pizza for this fantastic dessert recipe!
2. Soft Pretzel Twists– these are the perfect snack, and you can even use them as slider buns for sandwiches! Salted, soft, and perfect with cheese, I promise.
1. Salted Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers– these easy treats were the most popular recipe of 2017! No question, they are a favorite of mine as well. Just the right amount of salt brings out all the flavor here, and they are the perfect snack!
I’ve had a great time making yummy treats this year, and I hope you’ve all been able to bake something new, and find recipes that work in your high altitude kitchen. Here’s to next year- one full of more food and baking for us all!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hey guys! It’s Sunday, and today should always be a day of cookies (pies, cakes, and other misc. baked goods acceptable).
Today I’m sharing a recipe for peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, because why settle for just oatmeal, or just peanut butter, or just chocolate chip you guys? Why NOT have all three?
Little known fact- my cookie of choice is oatmeal. This is like 85% due to the fact that when it comes to raw cookie dough, oatmeal cannot be matched. It’s amazing, and that’s before the cookies are even baked you guys, AND it’s amazing with just boring old oatmeal with nothing else.
Can you just imagine how awesome this batch is? Peanut butter is a likely combo with oatmeal, and chocolate is a likely combo with… cookies, okay? Perfection has been born today.
This recipe originated from my middle school home ec class. We had tons of printed recipes at the end of the year in all different colors, all of which we had prepared during the class. The cookies these ones are based off, btw, I totally botched in class- forgot the flour (lol, not that important for cookies, right?), but once I made them at home, I never stopped.
The secret is the mix of blended oatmeal and full oats. The oatmeal powder gives you that toasty flavor more finely woven into the dough, and the whole oats offer the texture that we all associate with traditional oatmeal cookies. You blend the oats in a food processor or blender.
Okay, there’s actually another secret, and it’s super simple: cinnamon. I always add it to cookies because it creates this warm back note to end result that I promise you’ll love.
For good measure, I threw in some peanut butter chips alongside the chocolate. It takes home that peanut butter flavor, and it’s a nice compliment to the chocolate. Anyways, these are optional, so if you choose to leave them out, just replace them with more chocolate chips so you’ve got a good chip-to-dough ratio going on.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup room temp butter
- 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 3/4 cup old fashioned oats, blended to a powder
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats, left whole
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick sheets.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the oats, blended and whole, flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Slowly beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until completely combined.
- Stir in the chocolate and peanut butter chips.
- Scoop into large cookies (2 tbs. of dough roughly) onto your baking sheets.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until just golden.
- Cool completely and enjoy!
Weekend Baking Fail
So, I basically only have time to bake on the weekends. I work 60 hours most weeks, and so my days an evenings are always full. Weekends are my time for baking and personal blogging. Usually, I spend some time during the week when I can to plan out my baking for the weekend, and to plan out what will be going on the blog.
