Okay, let’s talk about something that drove me crazy for a while – marshmallow creme and marshmallows. Are they the same? Can I use them interchangeably? I had to find out, so I dove headfirst into a kitchen experiment.
I’m a big fan of baking, and sometimes I just don’t have the right ingredients on hand, you know? One day, I was itching to make this awesome fudge recipe, but guess what? No marshmallow creme. All I had were these bags of regular, fluffy marshmallows staring back at me. I thought, “Hmmm, they’re basically the same, right?” Wrong!
Experiment Time
First, I tried to use the regular marshmallows as is. Big mistake. They just didn’t melt down the same way as the creme. The fudge was a disaster – all lumpy and weird. It tasted okay, but the texture was totally off.
Then I remembered reading somewhere that you could melt down marshmallows with a bit of corn syrup to make a kind of substitute for marshmallow creme. I figured, what did I have to lose? My first attempt was already a mess. So I grabbed 16 large marshmallows, tossed them in a saucepan with 2 teaspoons of corn syrup, and started heating them up.
- Melting the marshmallows: This was a bit tricky. You have to keep the heat low and stir it constantly, otherwise, it burns. And let me tell you, burnt marshmallows smell awful!
- Adding the corn syrup: Once the marshmallows were mostly melted, I added the corn syrup. This seemed to help make it smoother.
- Consistency check: It was still a bit thicker than store-bought marshmallow creme, but it was definitely closer than my first try.
I used this homemade marshmallow creme in the fudge recipe, and it was a million times better! It wasn’t perfect, still a little bit thicker, but the fudge was actually fudgy this time, not a lumpy mess. I was so proud of myself!.
I also tried using this homemade concoction for whoopie pies. Now, the recipe I followed said to mix the marshmallow fluff with unsalted butter and powdered sugar for the filling. I did the same with my melted marshmallow mix, and honestly, it worked pretty well. The filling was sweet and fluffy, just like it should be.
So, the big takeaway here? You can use marshmallows as a substitute for marshmallow creme, but you gotta melt them down with a bit of corn syrup first. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s close enough, at least for my fudge and whoopie pie adventures.
I wouldn’t recommend using it straight out of the bowl though, or by itself. Marshmallow fluff can be very very sticky, so use it with butter and powdered sugar to make it not so sticky.
Oh, and another thing I learned – marshmallow creme and marshmallow fluff are basically the same things. Just different names, I guess. Don’t let that confuse you like it did me!
Anyway, that’s my story about turning marshmallows into marshmallow creme. Hope it helps someone out there avoid a kitchen disaster like my first fudge attempt! Happy baking, everyone!
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