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Dessert

Marshmallow Pudding

A custard-like pudding made with milk, corn starch, chocolate, marshmallows, and egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Marshmallow Pudding

Why it works: Vanilla and milk 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 Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Dissolve corn starch in a little cold milk.

  2. Heat the remaining milk in a dish set in hot water.

  3. Add the dissolved corn starch to the hot milk.

  4. Cook for 15 minutes.

  5. Mix in sugar and chocolate, which are smoothly mixed with a little water.

  6. Beat egg yolks until light, then add a spoonful of cold milk.

  7. Stir into the hot mixture.

  8. Flavor with vanilla and a pinch of salt.

  9. Stir until creamy and smooth.

  10. Strain for smoothness if desired.

Assemble and bake

  1. Line a dish with marshmallows.

  2. Pour the mixture over the marshmallows.

  3. Beat egg whites until very stiff.

  4. Gradually add powdered sugar and flavoring.

  5. Spread the egg white mixture on top of the pudding.

  6. Dot with marshmallows.

  7. Brown lightly in the oven.

  8. Serve warm or cold.

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. Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

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

  2. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  4. Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,943 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Corn + milktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,955 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

Vanilla and sugar 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

Corn starch
Thickens the milk into a smooth, creamy custard as it cooks.
Egg yolks
Enrich the custard, adding richness and body as it sets.
Egg whites
Whipped stiff to form a light topping that puffs and browns in the oven.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard, giving it its creamy texture.
Marshmallows
Melt slightly under the custard and brown on top, adding sweetness.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and helps the egg whites hold their structure.

The step that matters

Cook the custard gently and stir it smooth. Corn starch must be heated to thicken it; if the mixture is not stirred while cooking it can lump or scorch, and the egg yolks can curdle if they are added to very hot milk without first being thinned with cold milk.

“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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