TOASTED MARSHMALLOW FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE: Toasted Marshmallow Day!

Today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day, and, of course, you can make S'mores--and all the variations. But how about something other than Smores? Something easy and great for the Gluten-Free Folks? The following Flourless Chocolate Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Topping is fabulous!

You can use your favorite flourless chocolate cake recipe or try this easy Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe. For the Marshmallows, I recommend using high quality marshmallows or making your own. If you only have 'regular' marshmallows, that will work, too.

Toasted Marshmallow Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients 
8 ounces dark chocolate (70-75% cocao) 
1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cup sugar
6 large eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa
25 marshmallows 

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F
Butter 10-inch spring form round baking pan. Line bottom with buttered wax paper.
Break chocolate into pieces.
In double boiler or metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth.
Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture.
Add eggs and whisk well.
Sift cocoa over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 35-40 minutes, or until top has formed thin crust and toothpick comes out moist but not wet.
Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes.
Remove springform sides. Leave cake on bottom of pan.
Put cake (still on springform base) on cookie sheet.
Top with marshmallows while still warm (leave an inch free around edge - they spread).
Put cake back in oven at 375 for 5 minutes--until marshmallows are 'toasted'
Remove from oven.

Tip: If the marshmallows are not toasted enough, use a mini-torch (one of my favorite kitchen tools) to toast.

Cool on rack.

TOASTED MARSHMALLOW FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE: National Toasted Marshmallow Day

Today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day, and, of course, you can make S'mores--and all the variations thereof. Here's a link to a S'mores Round-up on National S'mores Day that I posted a few years ago. I've added lots of other Smores recipes since then.. but it's a start.

But how about something other than Smores? Something easy and great for the Gluten-Free Folks? The following Flourless Chocolate Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Topping is fabulous!

You can use your favorite flourless chocolate cake recipe or try this easy Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe. For the Marshmallows, I recommend using high quality marshmallows or making your own. If you only have 'regular' marshmallows, that will work, too.

Toasted Marshmallow Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients 
8 ounces dark chocolate 70-75% cacoa
1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cup sugar
6 large eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa
25 marshmallows 

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F
Butter 10-inch spring form round baking pan. Line bottom with buttered wax paper.
Break chocolate into pieces.
In double boiler or metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth.
Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture.
Add eggs and whisk well.
Sift cocoa over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 35-40 minutes, or until top has formed thin crust and toothpick comes out moist but not wet.
Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes.
Remove springform sides. Leave cake on bottom of pan.
Put cake (still on springform base) on cookie sheet.
Top with marshmallows while still warm (leave an inch free around edge - they spread).
Put cake back in oven at 375 for 5 minutes--until marshmallows are 'toasted'
Remove from oven.
If they're not toasted enough, use mini-torch (one of my favorite kitchen tools) to toast.
Cool on rack.

National Toasted Marshmallow Day: Homemade Marshmallows

Today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day. Marshmallows date back to ancient Egypt. Pharaohs used to eat the sweet extract that comes from squeezing mallow plants. It wasn't until the 19th century that marshmallows evolved into the treats we know today.

Toasted Marshmallows are a major ingredient in S'mores. If you've been reading this blog, you know I'm a big S'mores Fan. Recently I did a S'mores Wrap Up that included lots of recipes for these wonderful campfire and now haute cuisine treat! So many ways to prepare S'mores from Cupcakes to Bars to Pie--and, of course, the humble Girl Scout S'mores.

Chocolate is a major ingredient of S'mores, so choose the very best chocolate. That being said, one of the other 'big' ingredients is Marshmallows, and they should be Toasted, preferably on an open fire, but toasted is toasted, and you can always use a kitchen torch. It's essential to S'mores to toast these guys. Saying that, you should also have a good marshmallow, and homemade marshmallows are the best. Perhaps you like them straight out of the package, but if you want to try your hand at something unique and sublime, here's a great recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller (Artisan)

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS

Hint: Keep an eye on the mixer while beating because the marshmallow mixture tends to "walk" up the beaters to the motor. Scrape down frequently.
Yield: 12 large marshmallows

Ingredients:
3 envelopes of unflavored Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar for dredging

Preparation:
1. In bowl of electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes.
2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in small saucepan. Bring to boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Scrape into 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into  pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into pan.
3. Let mixture sit for few hours. Remove from pan, dredge marshmallow slab with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12 equal pieces with scissors (best tool for the job) or a chef's knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar.

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O.K. From the sublime to the ridiculous. No time to even toast a marshmallow today to celebrate National Toasted Marshmallow Day? Pick up a handful of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Toasted Marshmallows. Yum!