Checkout woman (in reference to marshmallow fluff): What do you do with this? Put it on toast? I bought some and I don’t know how to use it.

Me: I’m going to use it for a cake. But, it’s good with a spoon straight from the jar.

Checkout woman says nothing and gives me weird look.

Me: You could also use it to make something like a smore with a digestive biscuit and piece of chocolate.

Checkout woman: Healthy.

And then I felt awkward like I had said something wildly inappropriate (and super American). But here’s the cultural difference part. Her go-to idea for marshmallow fluff was to put it on toast, and that is pretty English. Cheesy toast, beans on toast, boiled egg and soldiers – these are all ways the English use toast. I don’t have that many uses for toast. Obviously you can put it on toast, but I had never considered that before (but maybe I will now). And for me, I felt super American because it never occurred to me that a person wouldn’t know how to use fluff. Also, a spoon seems like a perfectly legit means of eating fluff. And why should a treat be healthy? Smores are an amazing American treat and great when turned into a cake.

For Ryan’s birthday I made Ryan a steak and mashed potato dinner and then we followed it up with this cake.  In making the cake, I did almost set off the smoke alarm. Here’s what happened: I tried to toast the mini marshmallows using the broiler. I put them in the oven and then after about a minute I looked at them and they weren’t even brown yet so I put them back in. I went to melt the marshmallow fluff and checked back in the oven. The marshmallows were puffed up, dark brown, and starting to smoke. I pulled them out, we fanned the smoke, and then threw them out. Oops. Accidents happen.

I had more marshmallows, I didn’t toast them, and the cake cake out really nicely. I lit candles, I sang, he made a wish, then we ate cake. And then we finished the whole cake in three days, because that’s how good smores flavors are. The chocolate cake is very dark and rich, so it’s nice as a loaf because you can indulge without having a huge slice. And the top is all smores with fluff, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham crackers (or in this case digestive biscuits). This cake ticks all the boxes for indulgent dessert because it’s rich, gooey, crunchy, chocolaty, and very sweet.

The cake recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen and the idea for the smores part comes from Kraft.

Messy level: This cake is pretty easy to put together, the messy part comes from the decoration. Marshmallow fluff is sticky and gets everywhere, so that’s the messiest bit.

Chocolate Smores Cake

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ of a tub (8oz) marshmallow fluff
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• about 4 digestive biscuits (or 2-3 sheets of graham crackers)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325/165°.
2. Butter and lightly flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.
4. Add the sugars to the butter and beat until fluffy. This takes about 3 minutes.
5. Add the egg and beat well.
6. Then mix in the buttermilk and vanilla.
7. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together.
8. Slowly add the flour into the wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not over mix.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
10. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
11. Remove the cake from its pan. Use the back of a wooden spoon and poke a few holes gently in the top of the cake.
12. Put the marshmallow fluff in a bowl and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
13. Remove the marshmallow fluff from the microwave and spread over the top of cake. Make sure you fill in the holes so the marshmallow drips into the center of the cake. Use the tip of the knife to encourage some of the fluff to drip tantalizingly down the side.
14. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the mini marshmallows and chocolate chips.
15. Use your hands to crush up the biscuits/graham crackers. Crush them into some small crumbs and larger cookie shards. Sprinkle/arrange the cookies over the top of the cake. It should look a little messy but indulgent and amazing.

3.2.2807

The post Chocolate Smores Cake appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

The one ingredient I was unfamiliar with was the honeycomb. Is this something that exists in the US? What I found is that honeycomb is a toffee-like with a rigid but also a little bit light and airy. It was actually really yummy. The flavor reminded me of a Werther’s Original and the texture was a little like a graham cracker. The honeycomb adds a really nice crunch to the pie. Here the honeycomb is made from golden syrup, which I is another thing I hadn’t heard of before. If you’re going to make this at home, substitute corn syrup for the golden syrup.

There are two great things about this recipe. One it’s delicious. Two, it’s so easy! There is so little work and if you really don’t like cooking you can use store bought ingredients. Instead of making your own crust, buy graham cracker crust. Instead of making honeycomb, you can buy it at the store in the baking aisle (at least you can here in London). Or if you can crush up graham crackers or Werther’s Originals to get something sort of similar.

This recipe is beautiful and delicious treat. And if anyone deserves dessert, it’s me and Ryan. This weekend we went to Odiham in Hampshire. We went to see Odiham Castle, we walked along a canal, we saw baby ducks, we saw horses, and gorgeous old brick homes. We walked through lush grassy woods, we got caught in the rain, and we strolled along the high street. We walked at least seven miles. It was gorgeous, wonderful, and exhausting. We earned dessert.

Adapted from BBC Good Food.

Ingredients:

Honeycomb-

1 cup/200g of sugar

5 tbsp golden syrup

2 tsp baking soda

Everything else-

1 1/4 cup/250g graham crackers or caramel flavored cookies

3 oz butter

6 tbsp butter, melted (might not need all of it)

1 3/4 cup raspberries

500g/18 oz vanilla ice cream (you might not need it all)

Directions:

1. Start by making the honeycomb. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the sugar and golden syrup in wide saucepan. It won’t mix neatly, it will be a little chunky in places. Place over medium heat and leave until dissolved and bubbling. The magazine says don’t be tempted to stir because otherwise the sugar will crystallize.  As the mixture heats, the liquid will start to thin, spread, and become homogeneous.

2. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat and let it bubble for 1 minute.

3. Add the baking soda and stir. It will bubble up quickly so be careful!

4. Pour on the prepared baking sheet and leave for 20 minutes until cool and firm.

5. Now for the pie! In a food processor (or with ziplock bag and a rolling pin) smash up the cookies until they are crumbs. Add in the melted butter and mix until well combined. You want a wet sandy mix.

6. Pour the crumbs into a pie plate. Press them crumbs into the plate with a spoon. Press until really firm! Chill for 30 minutes.

7. Remove the ice cream from the freezer. Let it sit out for 10-15 minutes. You want it to be soft enough you can stir it around, but not so soft it is soupy.

8. Once the ice cream is ready, get a large bowl. Mix together the ice cream and most of raspberries. Leave a handful of raspberries on the side. While you’re stirring, try to smash up some of the raspberries. It will make a beautiful juicy swirl.

9. Smash up half the honeycomb into little pieces. Add it to the ice cream. Mix until you have a beautiful ripply ice cream swirl.

10. Remove the crust from the fridge. Add in the ice cream mixture and smooth the edges.

11. Top the ice cream with the reserved raspberries and some shards for honeycomb. You won’t use all the honeycomb, leave the rest for a snack later!

12. Freeze for 4 hours or until frozen solid.

13. When you’re ready to eat it, let it soften just a tiny beat so it is easier to cut. Serve and enjoy!

Messy level: This is a two spoon recipe. Putting together the pie is really easy and barely messy. It is just making the crust that is messy. The honeycomb is the messy part because it is sticky, bubbles up, and then cools quickly. If you make the honeycomb yourself put the saucepan in the sink to soak IMMEDIATELY. It will be so much harder to clean if you don’t do that!

The post Raspberry Honeycomb Ice Cream Pie appeared first on Cooking is Messy.