"Momofuku Style" S'mores Layer Cake with Chocolate Fudge Cake, Malted Chocolate Cake Soak, Malted Fudge Sauce, Graham Ganache, Graham Cracker + Chocolate Milk Crumbs, Charred Marshmallows, & Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

"Momofuku Style" S'mores Layer Cake with Chocolate Fudge Cake, Malted Cake Soak, Malted Fudge Sauce, Graham Ganache, Graham Cracker + Chocolate Milk Crumbs, Charred Marshmallows, & Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

Hi. Let's all be best friends. 

Okay? Why, you ask, I know. Well, 

Please... just please.

Now, that we got that clear. It's because I don't want to type a lengthy description of today's post. 

That's so lazy of me right? BUTTTT, there's so many components. Wordless Wednesday Monday.

1. Chocolate Fudge Cake 

2. Malted Chocolate Cake Soak

3. Malted Fudge Sauce

4. Graham Ganache

5. Graham Cracker + Chocolate Milk Crumbs

6. Charred Marshmallows

7. Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

That's it. NBD (no big deal). Amirite (am I right)? Right. Make this for everyone you know, and you'll have more best friends than Kate Hudson. She's so likable right? Love her. She has to have a lot of best friends, I just know it. Anyway, perfect for the 4th of July... it screams "Americana". 'Merica, f**k yeah!! Enjoy :)

P.S. Are there any fellow bloggers out there that want to do a guest post? I would love to have some people write recipes for my blog, or vice-versa! Comment below if you would like too!!

For the Malted Chocolate Fudge Sauce:

2oz Bittersweet Chocolate, Chopped

1C Chocolate Malt Ovaltine Powder

1t Sorghum Molasses

¼t Salt

2T Corn Syrup

¼C Sugar

½C Heavy Cream

For the Graham Cracker Milk Crumbs:

1 Sleeve of Graham Crackers, Roughly Crunched & Crumbled

½C Sugar

¼C Milk Powder

½tSalt

7T Melted Butter

  

For the Chocolate Milk Crumbs:

2/3C AP Flour

1t Cornstarch

½C Sugar

2/3C Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder 

1t Salt

6T Melted Butter

For the Chocolate Fudge Cake:

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1 ½C Sugar

3 Eggs

½C Buttermilk

¼C Canola Oil

1t Vanilla Extract

3T Malted Chocolate Fudge Sauce (already prepared)

1 ¼C Cake Flour

½C Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder

1 ½t Baking Powder + Salt

     

For the Malted Chocolate Cake Soak:

¼C Milk

2T Malted Chocolate Ovaltine Powder

For the Graham Ganache:

1 ½C Graham Cracker Crumbs

¼C Milk Powder

2T Sugar

1t Salt (plus an extra pinch)

4T Melted Butter

¼C Heavy Cream

2/3C Milk (a little more may be needed for texture)

For the Toasted Marshmallow Frosting:

25 Large White Marshmallows, Toasted or Charred

1C Confectioners’ Sugar, Sifted

2 Sticks of Salted Butter, Room Temperature

1t Vanilla Extract

1 Jar of Marshmallow Crème

Directions:

1. For the Malted Chocolate Fudge Sauce: Combine the chocolate, Ovaltine powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the corn syrup, molasses, sugar, and heavy cream in a saucepan and stir occasionally while bringing to a boil over high heat. The moment it boils, pour it into the bowl containing the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute. Slowly begin to whisk the mixture, and then increase the vigor of your whisking, every 30 seconds, until it is glossy and silky-smooth. Set this aside until ready to use.

2. For the Graham Cracker Milk Crumbs: Preheat the oven to 275 degrees and line a pan with a Silpat, and set it aside. Pour the sleeve of graham crackers into a bowl and crush them with your hands until they are quarter of the original size. Add the milk powder, sugar, and salt, and then toss to mix. Add the butter and toss to coat. This will bind the ingredients together. Spread the clusters onto the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently. Cool completely.

3. For the Chocolate Crumbs: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and line a pan with a Silpat, and set it aside. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, sugar, and salt, and then toss to mix. Add the butter and toss to coat. This will bind the ingredients together. Spread the clusters onto the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently (breaking them up gently throughout the cooking process). Cool completely. They will harden as they sit.

4. For the Chocolate Fudge Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and then prepare your three cake pans by lining them with parchment paper and spraying them with Pam. (either 8 or 9inch pans will work here, as long as you have a 6inch cake ring). Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitter with the paddle attachment and cream them together on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl, add in the eggs, and mix on medium-high heat for 2-3 more minutes. Scrape down the sides once more. On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Increase to medium-high speed and paddle for 5 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy mixture, and completely homogenous. Stop and scrape down again. Add the fudge sauce and mix on low speed until incorporated. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. On low speed, add the flour in and gently mix it until your batter comes together, about 1 minute. Scrape down and mix once again for 30 seconds to 1 minutes until the little lumps of flour are broken down. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans, evenly. Bake each layer for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center runs clean. Remove the cake pans from the oven and let them cool completely to room temperature (on a cooling rack). Once they have cooled, you need to invert them out of the pan onto a silpat or cutting board. Next, spray your 6inch cake ring with Pam and use it to cut out the cake center (think of it like a large cookie cutter). Repeat with the other cakes, you should have three perfectly round and trimmed cakes (there will be a lot of leftover cake, which means you get to share it or snack on them while you’re decorating). After cutting them, you need to refrigerate them overnight or partially freeze them for a few hours, so that they will be firm in consistency and will hold their shape when assembling the cake.

5. For the Malted Chocolate Cake Soak: Whisk together the milk and Ovaltine until Smooth. Brush this mixture over the cake layers to soak and make it extremely moist.

6. For the Graham Ganache: Toss the graham crumbs, milk powder, sugar, and salt with your hands in a bowl to evenly distribute the ingredients. Whisk the butter and heavy cream together. Add to the dry ingredients and distribute. Place the small clusters into a food processor. Pour the milk into the food processor, along with salt, and puree on medium speed until whipped and smooth. It will take anywhere from 1-5 minutes, depending on how good your machine is. Scrape down the sides to make sure it is completely homogenous. Layer this ganache immediately into the cake layers.

7. For the Toasted Marshmallow Frosting: Place marshmallows on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place on lower rack of oven, and broil marshmallows until nice and brown on top, between 30-60 seconds. Remove pan from oven and gently turn the marshmallows over, and broil until they are golden brown (be sure to keep an eye on them, they burn very quickly). In an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter and icing sugar on low until blended, about 1 minute. Add vanilla and mix on med-high for about 3 minutes. Add marshmallow cream and toasted marshmallows, and mix on lowest setting for about 1 minute. Char some extra marshmallows to layer in between the layers of cake.

8. Assembling the Cake:This cake could easily be assembled any which way you like, but I decided to make it based off of the famous technique used by Momofuku Milk Bar. This requires a 6inch cake ring, strips of acetate, and pastry frosting bags. Since you have already cut the three cake layers with the 6inch cake ring, those no longer need to be trimmed. But, you will need to prep the cake ring for perfect layering. Place the cake ring onto your serving plate and line it with the acetate. Put one of the layers of cake into the ring; brush on some of the Ovaltine milk mixture (soak it good). Spread some of the graham ganache in an even layer. Sprinkle about 1C each of the prepared graham cracker and chocolate milk crumbs over the gooey butter topping, make sure to gently press the crumbs into the ganache, so the layers will mesh together (or a little more or a little less of the milk crumbs, it doesn’t have to be exact). Either using a pastry frosting bag or a large rubber spatula, add a third of the toasted marshmallow frosting on top of the milk crumbs and smooth it out over the crumbs until they are all completely covered. Top with some charred marshmallows as well. Garnish the frosting with a drizzle of malted chocolate fudge sauce. Repeat this layering process until all the ingredients have been used (you should have 3 chocolate fudge cake layers, 3 layers of milk crumbs, and 3 layers of graham ganache, toasted marshmallow frosting, and charred marshmallows). You can garnish the cake any way you like, but I just made a mound of more crumbs & fudge sauce drizzle. Transfer the tall, layered, assembled cake into the freezer and let it chill for 12 hours (keep the cake in the cake ring and lined with the acetate for the freezing process). At least 3 hours before you want to serve the cake, remove it from the freezer and pop it out of the ring and gently peel off the acetate liner. Let it defrost in the refrigerator for at least four hours. Slice the cake into wedges and serve immediately.

Gourmet S'more Brownie Bars

Gourmet S'more Brownie Bars

Here's the last recipe peeps. And I definitely saved the best for last. I can't tell y'all how much we loved these over-the-top brownies. I mean we had like 4 each after dinner, and probably one for breakfast every day since. Don't judge us, we know that's not good. We get it. But they are just too damn delicious. I have seen a lot of recipes before for s'more brownies, so it's been on my to-do list for a while. Like, I've kinda been obsessing about it. But, I wanted to wait for the Summer because that's when s'mores are the best! Well, when Memorial Day came last week, I knew this was the perfect time to make 'em. And they are glorious. I first made some homemade graham crackers, and then ground them up into graham cracker crumbs. I just love homemade graham crackers, they have a crispier texture which gives the crust the best crunch. But, as always, feel free to substitute with store-bought graham cracker crumbs for a much easier assembly. The next layer included my favorite recipe for brownies. I love homemade brownies, they are way better than the box. These brownie layers are so gooey and moist, but they have a very special filling inside. What is it you ask? A thick layer of melty milk chocolate that perfectly mimics the hershey chocolate from classic s'mores. Finally, I topped my brownies with a homemade vanilla bean marshmallow. The marshmallow topped is then toasted until golden brown, making them positively crave-worthy. I used my favorite recipe for this layer, which I posted last summer. The only thing is that it does make a lot of marshmallows, so you can either make two pans of these brownies and split the marshmallow evenly between two pans, and that would make enough for a large cookout or party with family & friends. But, if you don't want to do that, you can do what I did and pour half of the marshmallow pan and make classic marshmallows for s'mores later on the week. So, if you want go that route, then go to this recipe and follow the directions for preparing the pan.  I still can't get over how much we loved these Gourmet S'more Brownie Bars. And I know that I will definitely be making these for our 4th of July party, as well as my favorite new recipe for the best southern banana pudding ever. You can have two major desserts on the 4th right? YES. Absolutely, unequivocally, undoubtedly yes. I seriously recommend these to anyone & everyone. They are soooooooo worth the work y'all!! Enjoy :)

OMG-Holy-Toasted-Marshmallow-Topping-Y'all 

yummy layers...

Homemade Graham Cracker Crust, Melty Milk Chocolate Filled Brownies,
& Toasted Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Topping

For the Graham Cracker Crust:

12T Unsalted Butter, Melted

3C Homemade Graham Cracker Crumbs

¼C Sugar

½t Salt

For the Chocolate Filled-Brownie Layer:

1 ¼C AP Flour

1t Salt

2T Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder

11oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Roughly Chopped

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Cut into Cubes

1t Instant Espresso Powder

1 ½C Sugar

½C Light Brown Sugar

5 Eggs, Room Temperature

2t Vanilla

3 6oz Chocolate Candy Bars (Recommended: Hershey or Symphony Brands)  

For the Homemade Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Topping:

3 ½ Envelopes of Unflavored Gelatin

1C Cold Water, Divided

2C Sugar

½C Light Corn Syrup

¼t Salt

2 Large Egg Whites,

1t Vanilla

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

Directions:

1. For the Graham Cracker Crust: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a 13x9-baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam. Set it aside. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until completely incorporated. Press this crumb mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool while you make the brownie batter.
2. For the Chocolate Filled-Brownie Layer: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Next, make a double boiler with a pot of boiling water and a glass bowl. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the hot water. Put the chocolate chips, butter, and espresso power and melt together. Once the mixture is melted, take the bowl off the heat and mix in both sugars. Let this mixture come to room temperature before adding the eggs. Add 3 eggs at first and blend together. Then add the other 2 eggs, as well as the vanilla and blend until well incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Slowly fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture (do not over mix or the brownies will be cakey). Pour half of the brownie batter into the pan with the baked graham cracker crust. Place the three candy bars side-by-side on top of the batter, and then cover with the remaining batter. Bake the brownies for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven (mine was perfectly set and gooey at 35 minutes). Let the brownies cool to room temperature while you make the marshmallow topping.
3. For the Homemade Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Topping: In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over ½C cold water, and let stand to soften. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second ½C of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour half of the mixture into the baking pan with the already-baked brownies. Chill the marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day (I poured the other half of the marshmallows into another pan for just plain vanilla bean marshmallows). 
4. Once the marshmallows have set, turn on the broiler of your oven. Toast the marshmallow topping until lightly golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. Gently remove the brownies from the pan using the aluminum foil and remove the foil. Cut into squares and enjoy.

source: baked brownies. springy, fluffy marshmallows. 

Autumn S'mores

S'mores are great pretty much any time. So why only make them in the summer? Well here's my solution... autumn-flavor inspired s'mores. I have already posted my recipes for Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers & Homemade Maple Marshmallows. Well, all you have to do is put them all together and add in some white chocolate. There's just something so satisfying about an ooey-gooey toasted marshmallow, melted chocolate, and the spicy-sweet graham crackers. Just go make these right now, you can thank me later! Enjoy :)

Autumn S'mores

For the Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers:

2 ½C + 2T AP Flour

1C Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly Packed

1t Baking Soda

1t Pumpkin Pie Spice

¾t Sea Salt

7T Unsalted Butter, Cut into 1inch Cubes & Frozen

1/3C Honey

5T Milk

2T Vanilla

For the Graham Cracker Topping:

2T Granulated Sugar

2t Pumpkin Pie Spice  

For the Homemade Maple Marshmallows:

3 Packets of Unflavored Gelatin

½C Water, Ice Cold

2C Pure Maple Syrup

Pinch of Cream of Tartar

Confectioners’ Sugar, For Dusting

For the Autumn S’mores:

Prepared Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers

Prepared Maple Marshmallows

Gourmet White Chocolate Squares

Directions:

1. To Make the Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers: Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated, or you can cut the ingredients together with a pastry blender (just make sure they are very well incorporated).  Add in the butter and mix on low until a consistency of a coarse meal is obtained. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add this to the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky. Lay out the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and dust it lightly with flour, and then turn the dough out onto it and pat it into a rectangle about 1inch thick. Wrap it, and then chill it until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. Prepare the topping by combining the sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl and set it aside. Once the dough has chilled, now you have to roll it out. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8inch thick. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Cut the strip every 4 ½inches to make 4 crackers. Place the crackers on parchment-lined baking sheets and chill until firm for about 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator. Repeat the same process with the second batch of dough. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while the dough chills. To decorate the cookies, mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker (being careful not to cut through the dough).  Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch (rotating the baking sheets halfway through). Let the cookies cool before making the Autumn S’mores.

2. To Make the Homemade Maple Marshmallows: Oil bottom and sides of a 13x9 rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over ½C cold water, and let stand to soften. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook maple syrup and a pinch of salt over medium-high heat until a candy or digital thermometer registers 225°F, about 5-10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour the maple syrup over the gelatin mixture and a pinch of cream of tartar. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer, beat the mixture on low speed for about 12-15 minutes, starting at a low speed and working up to a high speed. Pour the maple marshmallow mixture into the prepared baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round). Sift ¼C confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly cubes roughly a little smaller than the size of your graham cracker. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

3. To Make the Autumn S’mores: Toast the maple marshmallow and stack it onto the pumpkin spice graham crackers with a block of white chocolate. Enjoy immediately.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers

I came across a recipe for homemade graham crackers and I was just itchin' to make them this summer, but somehow it escaped me. So I thought to myself how can I make homemade graham crackers a little bit more "fall". Well, graham crackers are already a spiced, molasses-y, crunchy cookie... so why not exaggerate that flavor and make it over-the-top?! That's when I decided that I wanted to make Autumn S'mores. These autumn s'mores would consist of Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers, Gourmet White Chocolate, & Homemade Maple Marshmallows (which I'll post the recipe to later this week). I absolutely loved these flavorful pumpkin pie spice graham crackers and their warm flavor. I especially loved the pumpkin pie spice-sugar topping (normally graham crackers are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar). And honestly, I can't wait to make them into a graham cracker crust for a pumpkin cheesecake (um yum)! I really urge you to make these, not just for s'mores, but for anything & everything. We just really loved them! Enjoy :)

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers

For the Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers:

2 ½C + 2T AP Flour

1C Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly Packed

1t Baking Soda

1t Pumpkin Pie Spice

¾t Sea Salt

7T Unsalted Butter, Cut into 1inch Cubes & Frozen

1/3C Honey

5T Milk

2T Vanilla

For the Graham Cracker Topping:

2T Granulated Sugar

2t Pumpkin Pie Spice  

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated, or you can cut the ingredients together with a pastry blender (just make sure they are very well incorporated).  Add in the butter and mix on low until a consistency of a coarse meal is obtained. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add this to the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky. Lay out the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and dust it lightly with flour, and then turn the dough out onto it and pat it into a rectangle about 1inch thick. Wrap it, and then chill it until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

2. Prepare the topping by combining the sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl and set it aside.

3. Once the dough has chilled, now you have to roll it out. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8inch thick. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Cut the strip every 4 ½inches to make 4 crackers. Place the crackers on parchment-lined baking sheets and chill until firm for about 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator. Repeat the same process with the second batch of dough.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while the dough chills.

5. To decorate the cookies, mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker (being careful not to cut through the dough). Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows.

6. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch (rotating the baking sheets halfway through).

7. Let the cookies cool before eating to let them crisp up.

source: homemade graham crackers.

S'mores with Homemade Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

I love s'mores. I mean I guess everyone does, but in december I discovered that making homemade, fluffy marshmallows really isn't that hard. I made the recipe mainly for hot chocolate & coffee for winter-time, but I really wanted to use them for some yummy s'mores. So when my friends and I decided to do this trip to North Carolina, I knew I had to make a fresh batch for our bonfires at night. These marshmallows are way better than the store bought kind, by far. Especially because they toast a lot quicker and they turn into marshmallow fluff in the middle, so that the s'mores are extra gooey & extra messy, which is the exact reason you should eat s'mores. I cut the Vanilla Bean Marshmallows to the size of a graham cracker because I hate when you have to toast two marshmallows to fill up the graham cracker. Enjoy :)

First S'more of the Trip

Oh-So-Gooey

Toastin' the 'Mallow

S'mores with Homemade Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

For the Marshmallows:

1C Confectioners’ Sugar

3 ½C Envelopes of Unflavored Gelatin

1C Cold Water, Divided

2C Sugar

½C Light Corn Syrup

¼t Salt

2 Large Egg Whites

1t Vanilla

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

Directions:

1. Oil bottom and sides of a 13x9 rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.

2. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over ½C cold water, and let stand to soften.

3. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second ½C of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

4. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer.

5. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round). Sift ¼C confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.

6. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

source: springy, fluffy marshmallows