Marshmallow Creme Fudge and L’Appart

L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home features David Lebovitz’s experiences in taking his expat life in Paris to the next level- searching for and renovating his own home. With language barriers, cultural differences, and misunderstandings, he has plenty of pitfalls and learns quite a bit along the way.

David incorporates 25 sweet and savory recipes to pair with his experiences including Apple Maple Tarte Tatin, Vanilla Éclair Puffs with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce, Swedish Meatballs, and Kouign Amann. I will also be sharing his recipe for Marshmallow Creme Fudge following the review.

Disclosure: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

David Lebovitz

David Lebovitz is a professional cook and baker turned writer. He spent thirteen years at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California before leaving in 1999 and starting his website to coincide with the release of his first book, Room for Dessert.

David is now the author of eight books including The Perfect Scoop, The Great Book of Chocolate, The Sweet Life in Paris, and My Paris Kitchen. 

He has also been featured in Food & Wine, Cook’s Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Saveur, Travel + Leisure, and more.

L’Appart

After living in Paris for many years while renting a small apartment, David decides he wants to settle down and find his own place. The experience goes far from smoothly as he realizes just how different buying a home in a new country can be.

Following the challenge of even locating a home to the required medical screenings tied to loans and all the paperwork involved, he finally finds the perfect-sized apartment only to discover that it needs to be completely redone.

He uses the opportunity to build his dream home and transform the kitchen into a space that many avid bakers dream of.

This is where the real trouble begins with less than stellar contractors, wild goose chases for supplies that don’t even exist, braving the crowds with 4+ hour waits at Ikea, learning specialty vocabulary in a second language, and being taken advantage of for being too friendly. You can find a few photos of the renovation in his post.

Many of the chapters finish with a recipe, generally tied to something that happened in the previous pages. The measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric with the titles written in English and often French.

For easy reference, an index is included at the end of the book with a list of all the recipes. The dishes range from the incredibly simple Truth Serum to the complex Kouign Amann (this one is on my bucket list and I will definitely be trying it soon).  

Most of the ingredients are readily available. Some that may be difficult to locate include Thai red curry paste, galangal, Thai basil, buckwheat flour, and Izarra.

Marshmallow Creme Fudge 

I was immediately drawn to David’s recipe for Marshmallow Creme Fudge. He made this fudge using a jar of marshmallow creme brought back from the United States and shared it with the remodeling crew.

I never really cared for fudge growing up. I’m not sure if it was the texture or the overly sweet flavor, but I always avoided it as a child. This all changed over Christmas when my sister-in-law made some cheesecake fudge with a pecan crust. One bite and I was hooked. This Marshmallow Creme Fudge (Fudge à la pâte à tartiner guimauve) had a similar effect.

The fudge comes together fairly easily, but does require the use of a candy thermometer. Evaporated milk is combined with butter and sugar, then heated to create the base before bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate, marshmallow creme, and your favorite nuts (I used walnuts) are mixed in.

Marshmallow Creme is a marshmallow-like confection with a spreadable, sticky texture. If you are unable to locate it, I have a recipe for Marshmallow Whip to make at home.

Other Dishes

I also made Cervelle de Canuts, Swedish Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies (Galettes suédoises à l’avoine), and Chocolate Soufflé.

Cervelle de Canuts is an herby spread from Lyon. It came together so easily and is particularly perfect for herb and garlic lovers. A mixture of chopped shallots, parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil, and garlic is combined with strained fromage blanc and lightly seasoned with olive oil and red wine vinegar. David recommends pairing it with open-faced sandwiches or as a dip for crudités.

The Swedish Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies (Havreflarn) were inspired by David’s trip to Ikea. These crisp oatmeal-based cookies are sandwiched between a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate. My son loved helping with the assembly.

This was actually my first time making a Chocolate Soufflé (I had only tried the more savory cheese versions in the past). It was a huge hit. The crisp crust gives way to a decadent, tender mousse-like interior with a hint of coffee. We paired it with vanilla ice cream. While it is best served shortly after baking, David says “it’s also not bad the next day, at room temperature- for breakfast.”

Marshmallow Creme Fudge Recipe

Excerpt from L’Appart

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5 from 1 vote

Marshmallow Creme Fudge

A recipe for Marshmallow Creme Fudge from the book, L'Appart. This fudge is packed with marshmallow creme, two types of chocolate, and chopped nuts.

Course Dessert

Cuisine N/A

Keyword dessert, fudge, marshmallow

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 1 (8 inch) pan

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup (160 milliliters) evaporated milk
• 12 tablespoons (6 ounces, 170 grams) salted butter cut into cubes
• 3 cups (600 grams) sugar
• 8 ounces (225 grams) bittersweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate chopped
• 4 ounces (115 grams) unsweetened chocolate chopped
• 7 ounces (200 grams) marshmallow creme
• 1 cup (120 grams) almonds, walnuts, peanuts, or pecans toasted and coarsely chopped

Instructions

• Line an 8 inch (20 centimeter) square pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on at least two sides. Smooth out any wrinkles or creases.
• Put the evaporated milk in a 4-quart (4 liter) saucepan and fix a candy thermometer to the side.
• Add the butter and sugar to the pan, and heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 234˚F (112˚C).
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and marshmallow creme.
• Stir in the nuts, then scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Let cool at room temperature for at least 4 hours.
• Once cool, lift the fudge from the pan and cut it into squares, whatever size you like.