Chocolate and Marshmallow Pillow Cake
Christmas may have been and gone but for my family the celebrations are only just beginning… on the 1st of January it is mine and Jon’s anniversary, on the 9th of January we have my Mum’s birthday, the 13th of January is the birthday of cousin Harrison, and niece Phoebe, my birthday is on the 16th and my cousins Anthony and Billy have birthday a week and a half after that!
With so many birthdays crammed in to one month it means just one thing; a lot of cake!
As my Mum’s birthday was the first of the birthdays, it was up to me to bake her cake. I’m always keen to try something new when it comes to cooking, but I also have to be conscious of who I’m cooking for. In the past I tried a very American Red Velvet and Cream Cheese Frosting Cake which my family and friends found a little too sweet. Everyone enjoyed it but only wanted half the slice they normally would. With this in mind I decided to stick to a tried and tested chocolate sponge recipe, but I combined this with marshmallow crème.
The rich depth of dark chocolate perfectly balanced the sweet marshmallow crème. The crumbled biscuit topping also added extra texture which made for an all round cake.
But, how do you really know a cake is something special? Your guests go back for more! With a cake that can serve 16 being demolished by just 12, it seems clear that rich and moist chocolate sponge, topped with sticky gooey marshmallow crème is a winning combination!
So to make this cake…
Page Contents
Chocolate and Marshmallow Pillow Cake
Chocolate and Marshmallow Pillow Cake
Ingredients
For the marshmallow cream
- 170 g sugar
- 125 ml golden syrup
- 60 ml water
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
For the cake
- Chocolate Fudge Cake (click for the recipe)
- Marshmallow Crème (see above)
- 6 chocolate digestive biscuits
Instructions
- For the marshmallow creme
- Pop your egg whites and cream of tartar into a mixing bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks.
- Add the sugar, syrup, water and salt into a saucepan and heat. Bring this to the boil until it reaches 240 degrees F/ 120 degrees C.
- Once the syrup has reached the right temperature, slowly begin to mix it into the egg whites. Do this very slowly initially so that the eggs don’t begin to cook.
- As you add more of the syrup, turn the whisk up higher. Beat the mixture until it is stiff and glossy. This should take roughly 8 mins. Towards the end of the beating time add in the vanilla paste.
- It is now ready to use straight away, or can be stored in the fridge for 2 weeks.
- For the cake
- Bake the Chocolate Fudge Sponge according to the recipe, substituting the normal circular cake pans for rectangle pans.
- Spread a thin layer of marshmallow crème over the top of the base layer and place the second layer on top.
- Leave the marshmallow crème to set for 10mins or so before icing the top of the cake.
- Spoon the marshmallow crème into a piping bag with a large round nozzle and pipe clouds of the crème on top of the cake.
- Crush the chocolate digestives in a sandwich bag with a rolling pin before sprinkling on top of the cake.
Nutrition
For a shortcut, replace the marshmallow creme with store bought Marshmallow Fluff.
(NB. You don’t need the icing from this recipe! Replace it with the marshmallow creme below.)
