Recently Dan and I were perusing the freezer aisles during one of our frequent Target visits (yes, we go to Target more than is probably healthy—it’s a bonding experience) when he started soliloquizing about the fatal flaw in Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream. It would be his favorite flavor, apparently, if only the chocolate ice cream were switched out for vanilla. “Oh, I can do that,” I said, and immediately wanted to pull those words right back into my mouth.
While I don’t advocate that a sane person undertake the task of making homemade fudge, caramel sauce, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla ice cream to create your husband’s dream ice cream flavor, one of those components is completely do-able in less time than it takes to try on a Liberty of London dress in one of those crazy Target particleboard dressing rooms.
May I present you with my recipe for the world’s easiest homemade marshmallow fluff. Use it for homemade fluffernutters, fold it into your vanilla ice cream along with some toasted coconut for a pseudo-macaroon sensation, spread it on chocolate bars and graham crackers and go to town with a kitchen torch.
Or, you know, go whole hog and make homemade Phish Food ice cream. It’s in the freezer right now, waiting for Dan’s verdict. I’ll keep you posted.
Marshmallow Fluff
Total time: 15 minutes
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 2/3 cup sugar
Method:
Make a double boiler by bringing a small pot of water to a bare simmer, then place the bowl of your stand mixer, if you’ve got one, or another large stainless steel bowl atop the water. Add the egg whites and sugar, and whisk continuously until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is warm to the touch.
Transfer the bowl from the stovetop to your stand mixer (you’ll probably want to wipe the condensation from its bottom before securing), and use the whisk attachment to whip the liquid on medium-high speed until it turns glossy with stiff peaks, about 8 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, do the same with your electric hand mixer.
Eat immediately or refrigerate for no more than a week.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Best. Wife. Ever.
Who knew fluff was this easy? I can’t wait to try it!
mmmmm can’t wait to try this with s’mores!! Personally, I LIKE the chocolate ice cream in Phish Food but I’ll bet your homemade version is great!
Yes, Lisa, she is. And the chocolate in Phish Food is OK, Mom, but with the fudge chunks, I felt it was a bit too much chocolate. The verdict: Two spoons up (and into my mouth, simultaneously)!
You mean to tell me it’s that easy? I’ve always relied on the store-bought jars for my famous Fantasy Fudge recipe. (Which I got from the back of the marshmallow fluff jar. Don’t tell anyone!)
Ladies, I swear to you that it *really* is this easy. There’s no gelatin, so it doesn’t set up into squares for s’more-type marshmallows, but it is a spreadable wonder.
Three cheers for Casey demistifying cooking!! This seems crazy easy, and sounds DELICIOUS! I wish I was there to sample the Better Than Phish Food with you, Dan. It sounds fantastic.
I found your blog last night browsing for a fluff recipe. This was absolutely the easiest and most delicious thing I’ve whipped up in a while. I introduced fluffernutters to my boyfriend, so we’re very excited about trying it on the sandwiches, but the reason for the recipe lookup was for fluff to spread on my homemade pumpkin bread. It was heavenly. Perfect consistency for spreading, delectable. I’m already sharing this link via Facebook, and I’m absolutely addicted to reading the rest of your blog to try other things! You have two new fans! Thanks so much!
Jeri, thanks so much for the rave review! I’ve never tried the fluff on pumpkin bread, but now I can’t wait to dig in to that too. I just used it as a filling for some homemade whoopie pies last week —the possibilities are endless!