Marshmallow Heaven: Delicious, Unique, and Fun Recipes for Sweet Homemade Treats, written by Tricia M. Arce, features all things marshmallow. From beginners who want to learn how to make marshmallows at home to the more experienced who are looking for new ideas, this book has a little something for everyone. Notable flavors include Cotton Candy, Chocolate, Caramel Apple, Strawberry, S’mores, and Churro along with other fun ideas like Cutout Pops and Vanilla Mallow Pies. Following the review, I will also be sharing Tricia’s recipe for a homemade Marshmallow Whip.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Skyhorse Publishing 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.
Tricia M. Arce is a business owner and marshmallow maker based in Gilbert, Arizona. She left the corporate world and opened a marshmallow shop with her wife in 2014. Since then, their sweet treats have been featured on Insider and the Cooking Channel’s Unique Sweets.
Chapters are divided into the following: The 1, 2, 3 of Marshmallow Making; Classic Mallows; Kid-Approved Mallows; Holiday Mallows; Getting Fancy Mallows; Dipped Mallows; and Extras.
Tricia begins with an introduction and guide to basic ingredients to create marshmallows such as corn syrup, gelatin, and egg whites. To help with those who avoid certain ingredients, she provides simple syrup as an alternative to corn syrup if needed, uses kosher gelatin, and coats the marshmallows in a mixture of powdered sugar and tapioca flour instead of cornstarch. She also discusses favorite tools and includes a helpful short Q&A section with answers to possible issues that may arise.
The photography is provided by Joanie Simon. Nearly every recipe is accompanied by a full-page styled photo of the finished marshmallow. Measurements are listed in US Customary and there is a chart at the end of the book to help with Metric and Imperial conversions.
This book is a great pick for marshmallow lovers. Most of the ingredients are readily available in the average American grocery store. Some items that may require additional searching to locate include vanilla bean paste, tapioca flour, orange-colored chocolate wafers, orange oil, achiote chili powder, coconut emulsion, apple extract, eggnog extract, and other specialty extracts. All of the recipes produce 25 (2×2 inch) marshmallows in a 9×9 inch cake pan.
Marshmallow Whip
I have been wanting to make my own Marshmallow Whip (Marshmallow Creme) for a while now and finally decided to give it a go when I saw Tricia’s. It turned out perfectly! Egg whites are beaten until stiff with cream of tartar, then whipped until thick and glossy with a syrup mixture. The resulting Marshmallow Whip is flavored lightly with a dollop of vanilla bean paste. Unlike the rest of the marshmallows that require a few hours for the gelatin to set, the Marshmallow Whip can be used right away or stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Looking for a way to use your Marshmallow Whip? Try this Marshmallow Creme Fudge (I used store-bought last time I made this recipe, but definitely want to try it again with the homemade version).
Other Dishes
I also made Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, Cookies and Cream Marshmallows, Peanut Butter Marshmallows, and Homemade Graham Crackers.
These Vanilla Bean Marshmallows went perfectly with hot chocolate. Flavored simply with vanilla bean paste, they are also an easy beginner recipe before moving on to incorporate it into more complex marshmallows like the Salted Caramel and Orange Cream.
The Cookies and Cream Marshmallows were my personal favorite. Vanilla-based marshmallows are folded with broken Oreo cookies, then coated on all sides in a dusting of the finely crushed cookie crumbs.
The Peanut Butter Marshmallows are swirled with a smooth or chunky peanut butter. These are best with a natural peanut butter than contains purely peanuts and salt. We also loved pairing these marshmallows with hot chocolate for a peanut butter cup-like flavor.
The Homemade Graham Crackers were another fun recipe I have been wanting to try on my own for a while. These definitely did not disappoint and the kids loved how they held the shape of these bee cookie stamps. I ended up turning a few into sandwiches with toasted Vanilla Bean Marshmallows and a smear of Nutella.
Marshmallow Whip Recipe
Excerpt from Marshmallow Heaven
Marshmallow Whip
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/3 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup simple syrup or light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer along with the cream of tartar, and mix on medium until firm peaks form.
- In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, and simple syrup or light corn syrup. Place over medium-high heat, clip a candy thermometer (best to use a digital thermometer if you have one) onto the side of the pan, and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240˚F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from heat.
- Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the egg whites. Make sure this is poured slowly; if poured too fast, you could cook the egg whites. Once you have added all the syrup, increase the speed to medium.
- Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and glossy, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Add the vanilla bean paste during the last minute of whipping.
- When ready, pour the marshmallow mixture into a container to use at your leisure. You can store this in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, if it lasts that long.
camila hurst
OMG thank you so much for sharing this inspirational post!! I make graham crackers from scratch all the time. I used to work a bakery and we made these small bags with homemade marshmallows, homemade graham crackers and chocolate to sell. Smores from scratch bag. Thats what your post reminded me of. From scratch cooking is and always be what moves me. Excellent post and blog, I’ll be sure to follow you!
Priya Shiva
wow! I got to get this book! Great review and the images look so tempting!
Beth
I have never made my own homemade marshmallows! What a fun business to open up. Right? Who wouldn’t buy them at a fair or something?
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
I was just thinking about making this the other day, love it ~ I bet it tastes so much better than the store bought stuff!
Soniya
Oh my Lord!! This is pure genius… My kids are a big marshmallow fan and I am sure they are going to dig this.. can’t wait to try it!