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Dessert

Soft Fbostinq

A sweet frosting made with sugar, water, egg white, and marshmallows.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Ladies' Benevolent Society, First Congregational Church (Fall River, Mass .). Ladies' Benevolent Society, Mass.) First Congregational Church (Fall River · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Soft Fbostinq

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sugar and egg white base

  1. Boil one cup of sugar and one quarter cup cold water until it threads.

  2. Beat the white of an egg to a froth.

  3. Stir the hot sugar into the egg white, then flavor to taste and stir until it cools, then spread.

Make the marshmallow frosting

  1. Boil three fourths cup sugar and one fourth cup milk until syrup threads, and do not stir after it begins to boil.

  2. Cook and stir one fourth pound marshmallows and two tablespoons water over boiling water until smooth.

  3. Mix with syrup and beat until thick enough to spread, then flavor with vanilla.

Use

  1. Use on dark chocolate cake.

By Ladies' Benevolent Society, First Congregational Church (Fall River, Mass .). Ladies' Benevolent Society, Mass.) First Congregational Church (Fall River. 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. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Cooks into a syrup that thickens and sets as it cools, giving the frosting body and sweetness.
Egg white (in the method)
Whipped to a froth, it traps air and gives the frosting a light, spreadable texture.
Marshmallows
Melt smoothly into the syrup, adding sweetness and a soft, creamy body.
Milk (in the method)
Adds richness and softness to the second sugar syrup.

The step that matters

Do not stir after the second syrup begins to boil. Stirring a boiling sugar syrup can encourage sugar crystals to form, which leaves the frosting grainy instead of smooth. Letting it boil undisturbed keeps it clear and fine-textured.

“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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