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Dessert

Marshmallow Chocolate Brittle

A brittle made from marshmallows, sugar, glucose, molasses, and chocolate.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Marshmallow Chocolate Brittle

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Knead marshmallows and dipping cream together until stiff.

  2. Keep warm.

  3. Combine sugar, glucose, and water in a kettle to dissolve.

Cook the mixture

  1. Cook the mixture to 310°F (154°C).

  2. Add dark molasses. Stir the mixture.

  3. Cook to 320°F (160°C) or 330°F (165°C).

  4. Pour the mixture onto a slab when partly cold.

  5. Fold the mixture.

  6. Pull the mixture on a hook to remove air.

Shape and finish

  1. Shape the mixture into a piece about 10 by 14 inches.

  2. Place the marshmallow cream in the center.

  3. Fold the marshmallow cream up.

  4. Flatten the mixture out.

  5. Pull the mixture into one-inch strips, slightly thicker than Boston chips.

  6. Have a helper run a caramel cutter over the strips.

  7. When cold, dip the strips in dark sweet chocolate.

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.

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. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Cream + molassestop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,408 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Marshmallows
Provide a light, airy, sweet base that gives the brittle its soft, aerated texture.
Sugar
Forms the crystalline structure and sweetness when cooked to a firm, brittle stage.
Glucose
Inhibits sugar crystallisation, keeping the cooked mixture smooth and less grainy.
Dipping cream
Adds fat and richness, softening the marshmallow base for a tender bite.
Dark molasses
Adds depth, colour and a slightly bitter, caramel-like flavour to the sugar mixture.

The step that matters

Cooking to the final temperature. Sugar syrup must reach the stated temperature to set into a brittle. Undercooking leaves it sticky, while overcooking can make it bitter or dark.

“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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