Growing up, my mother used to wax poetic about the amazing marshmallow frosting she liked to make as a girl. And now ages and ages later, I’m finally giving it a try. Okay, this isn’t my mom’s recipe–part of the mystique of her frosting is that the recipe was lost to time–but according to her, this one turned out very similar, so win! This frosting is so much fun. Watching egg whites and sugar go from clear, eggy liquid to light and billowy clouds of marshmallow deliciousness is like watching a magic trick. I’ll be using this frosting next in a recipe next week and since cooked frosting always intimidated me when I first started baking, I thought I’d give this one its own post before then and walk through it step-by-step. You will Need: Heat-proof glass bowl* or stand mixer bowl Stand mixer* or handheld electric mixer* Whisk Medium to large saucepan for boiling water First, you’re going to whisk eggs, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in a large heat-proof bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Heat an inch of water (fill the pot up to your first knuckle) in a large pot until simmering and place bowl of egg whites over the water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the boiling water.
Stir eggs over simmering water until they reach 120°F. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes. If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, one, you should get one*, it will change your life. Two, at 120°F, your mixture will feel hot to the touch, just past the point of comfortable.
Remove bowl from heat and use your stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer to beat the egg whites on high for another 3 to 6 minutes. They should become bright white and fluffy. They won’t be able to form stiff peaks because they are so sticky, but when you lift the beaters out of the mixture, the peaks should stand pretty tall before flopping over.
Transfer to a piping bag or use a large plastic bag with the tip cut off to pipe onto some delicious cupcakes, like maybe my Gooey Chocolate S’mores Cupcakes…
Then very carefully brown under your broiler for a couple of minutes or toast with a kitchen torch. And done!
More Favorite Frosting Recipes
Small-batch Vanilla Frosting Small-batch Chocolate Frosting Small-batch Cookie Dough Frosting Small-batch Cream Cheese Frosting
Nutritional Information Adapted From ChowHound *This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using one of them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
