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Marshmallow Fudge Bars

"My grandmother gave me this recipe, which was always a favorite of mine as a child."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Cocoa powder and chocolate match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,587 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

The recipe

1 - 9x13 inch pan
Prep20 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan with a little of the melted butter.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, white sugar and cocoa powder until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

  3. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined, then fold in the walnuts. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

  4. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top looks set and a toothpick in the center comes out with moist crumbs.

  5. Sprinkle the miniature marshmallows evenly over the hot base. Return to the oven and bake 3 to 5 minutes more, until the marshmallows puff and soften.

  6. For the frosting, combine the brown sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until dissolved, then boil gently for 1 minute.

  7. Remove from the heat. Stir in the unsweetened baking chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter until melted, then add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth.

  8. Pour the warm frosting over the marshmallows and spread gently. Let cool completely, about 1 hour, before cutting into bars.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Cocoa powder + chocolatetop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,587 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together10,018 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together35,031 recipes

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

  4. Cocoa powder + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together2,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  5. Walnut + chocolatetop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together1,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

Flavor stand-ins for the walnut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cocoa powder, butter, egg, vanilla, flour, chocolate):

  1. Almondbetter flavor fit
  2. Cocoabetter flavor fit
  3. Hazelnutbetter flavor fit
  4. Walnutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cocoa powder, butter, egg, vanilla, flour, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).