birthday cake marshmallows;
Light and fluffy marshmallows made from scratch, with a subtle extra birthday cake sweetness and colorful sprinkles in every bite! Birthday cake marshmallows have a fun pop of color and an even better pop of flavor. Swirl colors throughout the marshmallows to make the entire marshmallow a fun party!
When it comes to marshmallows, they’re going to be sweet. They’re essentially just sugar (corn syrup) and sugar (sugar) heated and whip whip whipped. So they’re by definition sweet. You can of course whip marshmallows with a hand mixer, but I strongly suggest a stand mixer if you have one available. You have to whip for several minutes, and it’s nice to have your hands free while you’re whipping. If you do want to use a hand mixer, maybe enlist some helping hands to pour in the gelatin mixture to keep it even!
The key to fluffy and light marshmallows is to whip whip whip.
secret to success
But these birthday cake marshmallows are pumped up with vanilla extract, almond extract, and a dash of butter extract for extra richness. If you want extra birthday cake flavor, look for artificial vanilla extract. The artificial-ness actually adds a bit of that traditional birthday cake flavor.
Or, if you’re looking for an easy birthday cake flavor, swap out the three extracts for a flavored oil like this one–but be careful! This stuff is potent. Use only ¼ tsp of flavor because it’s so potent. If you add too much you’ll get a crazy intense sweet bomb that will essentially be inedible. But it saves you from buying and adding in multiple extracts. Plus you can use it for other projects as well!
When it comes to birthday cake marshmallows, you can’t really call it birthday cake without sprinkles! Bright and colorful, I usually choose to use two types of sprinkles. First, your traditional rainbow sprinkles, and then I also toss in some flat and round confetti sprinkles. I just like the look of the two together, it’s so festive.
But the best part about these colorful birthday cake marshmallows is that it’s so easy to use sprinkles to theme them. Having a party? Use the party colors. You don’t have to limit yourself to traditional sprinkles as well. Try colored sanding sugar, or cute baubles or icing decorations. Just make sure they’re not too hard to bite into. Since the marshmallows are soft and silky, biting into something hard can be painful–or worse, break a tooth!
I like using two different kinds of sprinkles to make these festive treats. You don’t have to limit yourself to traditional sprinkles–try colored sanding sugar or cute baubles.
secret to success
I really like using two different kind of sprinkles to make these festive treats. I like the round confetti sprinkles tossed on top with those round confetti sprinkles. Of course, just use your favorite sprinkles. Even with a birthday cake flavor, you can make these festive treats wintery with blue and silver sprinkles or spring-y with some green and yellow sprinkles.
For that extra pop of color, get out your food coloring! You’ll want gel food coloring for this to make sure it incorporates into the marshmallow and doesn’t cause any issues with the texture. Water-based food colorings can sometimes cause issues or not combine quite as nicely. Make sure to stir the colors through a couple times, but fold lightly! You don’t want to disturb the fluff you just achieved by whipping for minutes.
If you want to add an extra pop of color, fold in gel food coloring! Do it lightly and gently so you get swirls of color in your mallows.
secret to success
Marshmallows are delicious by themselves, but these birthday cake marshmallows are great in s’mores! Pair with homemade graham crackers and white chocolate for a sweet sweet treat. If you don’t have access to a fire pit or campfire, no worries! Make sheet pan s’mores in your kitchen any time!
secrets to success;
Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!
more recipes;
Looking for other sweet treats? Check out these great recipes:
- These 4 ingredient orange sugar truffles are so easy, flavorful, and festive!
- Check out some other marshmallow flavors I’ve shared, including churro marshmallows and brownie batter marshmallows.
- For another buttery and sweet dessert, try these delicious, colorful, and coated in sprinkles: butter sprinkle cookies!
birthday cake marshmallows;
Equipment
- stand mixer OR hand mixer
- digital thermometer strongly recommended
Ingredients
birthday cake marshmallows;
- 2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes, 21g)
- ¾ Tbsp vanilla
- ¼ Tbsp almond extract
- ¾ tsp butter extract (imitation butter, butter flavor)
- 1 cup cold water (divided)
- 2 cups white sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ tsp salt
- unflavored cooking spray (to grease the pan; can also use lard, butter, or mild flavored oils like canola oil)
dusting powder;
- ⅛ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
embellishments;
- colorful sprinkles
- food coloring gel (red, yellow, green, blue)
Instructions
birthday cake marshmallows;
- Spray a 9"x13" pan lightly with unflavored oil to prevent sticking. You can also use butter, shortening, or any other unflavored fat.
- Add ½ cup cold water and add 1 tsp butter extract, and 2 tsp vanilla to a stand mixer or large bowl.
- Add 2 Tbsp (3 envelopes, approx 21g) gelatin into the bowl as you whisk lightly to incoporate it so it doesn't clump.
- In a heavy saucepan, add the remaining ½ cup cold water with 2 cups white sugar, ½ cup corn syrup, and ¼ tsp salt. Cook over low heat, stirring gently until sugar dissolved.
- Increase heat to medium and boil without stirring until mixture reaches 240°F, about 12 minutes. As soon as it reaches the right temperature remove from the heat.
- Begin whisking the bloomed gelatin on slow speed. Pour the sugar mixture over the gelatin bloom stirring until dissolved evenly. Then add the remaining sugar mixture.
- Beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume. This should take approximately 6-8 minutes in a stand mixer, and roughly 10 minutes with a hand mixer.
- If using food coloring, add several drops of each color throughout the marshmallow and fold gently in. You want to avoid overmixing, as this will deflate your marshmallow and make it denser. Mix several times until color swirled throughout.
- Working quickly, spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan (or pipe into molds if desired) and smooth with an oiled spatula. Toss the sprinkles over the top of the marshmallows while still sticky.
- Allow to stand, uncovered for at least 4 hours up to one day.
dusting powder;
- Mix together ¼ powdered sugar with ⅛ cup cornstarch. Turn out the marshmallows and using a pastry brush, coat with the sugar mixture.
- Cut into desired size, I like to trim the edges, and then cut into 5 columns. Cut each column into squares, makes roughly 25. Or cut into mini sizes, or cut out with sharp edged cookie cutters. Brush each individual marshmallow with the sugar mixture on all sides to prevent sticking.
- Eat straight up, or toast with graham crackers for s'mores, or fold into rice krispie treats. Enjoy!
1 Comments
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February 4, 2024 at 8:31 pm
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