Monday, January 26, 2015
This past
week I decided to make S’mores Ice Cream, a delicious concoction filled with
gooey marshmallow, crunchy graham crackers, and tasty chocolate chunks. While there are many different incarnations
of S’mores Ice Cream, the one I chose has a vanilla base with s’mores chunks in
it (differentiating from ones with a chocolate base or that mix the s’mores
together for a more muddled ice cream with fewer distinctive flavors). It also calls for broiler-toasted
marshmallows, giving the marshmallows that crisp, smoky flavor that you get
when toasting them over an open fire. ‘Great!’ I thought, ‘I love toasted marshmallows!’
And it’s so easy! Turn your
broiler on high, pop in a pan of marshmallows, and in a couple of minutes you’re
good to go. However, as I (and my
Facebook friends) quickly found out, it would not be so easy – heartache lurked
around the corner. And so that you may learn
from my sorrows, I present
The night
started off well enough with a simple gathering of ingredients: salt, vanilla
extract, marshmallows, milk, heavy whipping cream, sugar, chocolate bars, and
graham crackers. I deftly prepared the
vanilla base and put it and the canister in the fridge to chill. My captive Facebook audience waited with
baited breath for my updates.
Then I turned my attention to
toasting the marshmallows.
According
to Add a Pinch, the source for this recipe, the way you make broiler-toasted
marshmallows is “Place marshmallows on a baking sheet and broil for about 3
minutes, taking care not to burn. Remove
from oven and allow to cool.” Subsequent
sources confirm that the broiler temperature should be high. However, I’ve broiled things before
(asparagus and garlic bread), and I know how fast the broiler can cook
things. I also know that leaving a marshmallow
in the microwave for longer than 30 seconds will destroy it, so I was wary and
decided to put the marshmallows in for a scant 2 minutes. Two minutes later, the timer rang, smoke
bloomed from my oven, and I discovered this sad mess:
Naturally,
I posted the results on Facebook and was met with a treasure-trove of support.
Bless my
friends.
Undeterred,
I gathered my remaining serviceable pan and marshmallows and popped them in the
oven, vowing upon all that was custardy and sweet that the tricksy buggers
would not leave my sight.
I watched
and I waited, my eyes trained upon the tops of my marrowous mallows. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, the tops began
to expand, ballooning out like mushrooms.
The heads darkened, just a touch, then a shade, then a hue, and I
shouted, “They’re done, turn off the broiler!” and whipped open the oven.
And there
they were, my precious wee ones. My
broiler-toasted marshmallows.
And guess
what folks?
The second
batch was perfect, and the hints of smoky sugar swirling in the ice cream were
well worth my thoroughly ruined pan.
However, I did learn one very valuable lesson:
Also: marshmallows
broil for 30 seconds, guys, not 3 minutes.
Same as the microwave.
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