Marshmallow Icing

So... this morning I went ahead and woke up early in order to ice my chocolate cupcakes.  i should have ideally done it all on the same day but hey.  The cupcakes were made less than a day ago and so were perfectly cooled and ready to be iced.

The icing involves making a hot caramel sauce and heating it up until it gets to the soft ball stage.  You remove it from the heat and add it add to the egg whites (which have been whisked and form soft peaks).  This all sounds really straightforward but it takes a little while!  you really have got to be patient, vigilant and on your toes with this!  I was patient for about half the mixture and then I thought "why not pour ALL of the remaining hot caramel into the egg whites?"  Well - I can tell you why...the moment I started to tip it all into the egg whites hindsight kicked in - just a little late!!  The entire amount of caramel that I had added in hardened into a ball that would NOT blend in with the rest of the mixture!  Lesson learnt!  I will most certainly spend a few extra minutes getting it right next time!  Anyway - this is sort of what it looked like...

Not too bad I didn't think.  It wasn't as thick as it could have been, especially as only half the caramel had gone into it!  Part of the finish of the icing is the glossy look at the end as well as the texture (which is how it gets its name - marshmallow icing).  It was surprisingly easy to make for my first time and the taste was phenomenal!  Here is what the finished article looked like:

This has definitely overtaken any other icing I have ever made as my default favourite!!  I can't wait to make it again and spend the necessary time making sure all the ingredients are blended together slowly and evenly.  I would definitely recommend this as an alternative to the traditional buttercream or cream cheese frosting.  There was a smooth blending of flavours with the chocolate although I feel that one cupcake was ample to satisfy most sweet fanatics out there.  I can't wait to make it once more and then begin to add little subtle changes and surprises to make it more 'my own'.  Watch this space... 

It was great to share the cupcakes with good friends at a New Years lunch today and they seemed to go down a treat!  I seem to have really gone off chocolate so I will definitely be steering clear of it for my next recipe trial (I think...).  I can't believe that is already recipe one!  Oh - before I go...

one with a little sparkle, befitting welcoming in the new year!

Till next time "Happy New Year"!  

Dx