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Dessert

Marshmallow Filling

A sweet gelatinous filling made from sugar, milk, marshmallows, gelatin, and confectioner's sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Marshmallow Filling

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Marshmallow Filling

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. Combine sugar and milk in a saucepan.

  2. Heat slowly to boiling without stirring and boil for 6 minutes.

Make the marshmallow base

  1. Break marshmallows into pieces and melt in a double boiler.

  2. Add hot water and cook until smooth.

  3. Gradually add the hot syrup while stirring constantly.

  4. Beat until cool enough to spread.

Finish and set

  1. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.

  2. Gradually stir in confectioner's sugar.

  3. Beat for 30 minutes.

  4. Flavor with vanilla.

  5. Pour into a tin the size of your cake.

  6. Let set until the gelatin thickens.

  7. Use between the two layers of cake.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Gelatin + vanillatop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together924 recipes

    Shared aroma: maltol (caramel, sweet).

  5. Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together77,875 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Marshmallows
Melt into a sweet, sticky base that gives the filling its body and chew.
Gelatin
Sets the filling so it holds its shape between cake layers instead of running.
Confectioner's sugar
Stiffens the mixture and adds sweetness, giving a smooth, spreadable texture.
Sugar
Dissolves into the milk to form a syrup that adds sweetness and helps the filling set smoothly.

The step that matters

Gradually add the hot syrup while stirring constantly. Adding hot syrup slowly while stirring keeps the mixture smooth and prevents the sugar and marshmallow from seizing or forming lumps as they combine.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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