The real reason I bought Spike Mendelsohn's The Good Stuff Cookbook is because it had a recipe for something that just curled my toes when I thought about it. A Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake. When I bought the cookbook last year, I set it aside, just waiting for the summer months to try, what I was sure, would be a delicious treat.
I made this the first time on the 4th of July. It was pretty much the only thing we had for several hours that day as our power kept going on and off. Luckily I was able to get these milkshakes on the table so that my family didn't starve. Maybe it is a good thing that we didn't have power, or I might have continued to just make these milkshakes all night long and we never would have gotten to dinner. This really is one dang good milkshake. I loved the toasted marshmallow flavor coming through mixed with the brand of vanilla ice cream I used. Having a toasted marshmallow floating on top was just the icing on the cake so to speak.
But...I did have some problems when I made this shake a second time. Problems that didn't happen the first time, because I didn't really follow the directions the first time I made these. My issues on the second batch? 1. Shake was too thin 2. Blending for 5 mins (yes FIVE minutes) 3. The end result looked dirty brown 4. It didn't all fit in the blender to blend.
Now the first time I made these shakes, I didn't measure and added quite a bit more ice cream (which made it much thicker than the recipe). I didn't blend five minutes (too worried about the power going out). I didn't toast the marshmallows as much (see difference in the two photos) and I only had about 10 ounces of marshmallows (though it barely fit, I was able to get it all in the blender.). My first shake was thick, looked like a nice shake and had, for me, a perfect toasted marshmallow flavor. The next time I made the shake, it was very thin, had a quite over powering toasted marshmallow taste and didn't look quite as nice.
I'll be honest though...I preferred the first shake to the second, but I'd still drink the second in a heartbeat. I think it all comes down to how you like your marshmallows toasted. I don't like mine too dark...I kinda like a nice golden tan all over. I know others prefer the dark almost burnt kind of toasted marshmallow. And of course there are those that prefer to catch their marshmallows on fire and have a black burnt mess. Whichever version you like, you can make this milkshake.
TOASTED MARSHMALLOW SHAKE
- 1 16-ounce bag jumbo marshmallows
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups creamy vanilla ice cream
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
Preheat the broiler.
Reserve 4 marshmallows for garnish. Spread out the remaining marshmallows on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place the sheet under the broiler and cook, stirring once or twice, until completely charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Repeat with the remaining four marshmallows, but cook just until toasted slightly golden, about 1 minute. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Add the milk, ice cream, sour cream, and burnt marshmallows to a blender. Blend for 5 minutes.
Pour into four 8-ounce glasses and garnish each glass with a golden marshmallow. Serves 4.
Note: The first time I didn't have a full 16-ounce bag of marshmallows. I didn't know that some brands also come in a 10 or 12 ounce bag and just bought a bag without looking. This worked out well because no way could I get the milk and all the ice cream PLUS a full bag of marshmallows (even toasted) into my blender! The second time I made the shakes I actually had to add the marshmallows in batches which might have effected the end product.
Note: I used Häagen-Dazs Five Vanilla Ice Cream (it's pretty much my go to vanilla ice cream these days). I'm not sure if the first shake I used less milk or more ice cream but I do know that having more ice cream made a thicker, more traditional shake. The second shake had almost a chocolate milk like consistency.
Note: Checking online with others who had made this shake, you need to be really careful to let your marshmallows cool before adding. If they are still hot, they will melt the ice cream and make a thinner shake. I let them cool the same amount of time on both shakes so I don't think that was my problem in the second shake being thinner consistency.
Note: I didn't bother holding out four marshmallows for decoration. I just made sure four marshmallows were sort of "alone" on the pan and they got as dark as any of the other marshmallows. You do need to watch them as they go from "white" to golden very quick. The first batch I had all the marshmallows sort of dumped on the tray and I ended up with a gooey mess ( let them cool first before transferring). The second batch, I made sure no marshmallow was touching another marshmallow and I got a nice dark golden color all around (that would be the photo below).
Note: Again, I think the trick here for best flavor is to toast the marshmallows the way you would if you were sitting around holding a marshmallow on a stick over the campfire. The darker toast on the marshmallow, the more pronounced the flavor will be.
Note: There is nothing wrong with a brown colored shake :)
Note: Blend five minutes? FIVE MINUTES? I wish Spike had let us know why. Very few of the folks that I read that tried this recipe actually blended for the full five minutes. I saw no difference in blending for say, 2 minutes to the whole five. On the second batch, I thought maybe blending that long would thicken up the shake but that didn't happen. I say blend a good two minutes and if all the little marshmallows bits are incorporated, no need to blend further (and if anyone out there has an answer for the five minutes, please let me know, I really am curious).
Note: I love the fact that I can "toast" marshmallows in my oven. Oh the possibilities!
Loved this Toasted Marshmallow Shake. Loved love loved it. And it's a shake that I can make year round. I really am looking forward to the dead of winter, when it's cold and rainy and there is a fire in the fireplace and I'm drinking this shake instead of having a hot cocoa!
