This homemade meringue tastes like marshmallow creme! It comes together quickly and easily with 4 basic ingredients. Made without all the preservatives and high fructose corn syrup of the store-bought version, this extra creamy and sweet topping/frosting will quickly become your new favorite.
Have you ever had a fluffernutter sandwich? Eaten marshmallows straight out of the bag? Roast campfire s’mores just to eat the gooey toasted marshmallow? Enjoyed marshmallow fluff right out of the jar? If any of these describe you, continue on.
PS: A fluffernutter sandwich is peanut butter and marshmallow creme on bread. Don’t knock it ’til you try it, trust me.
This is Meringue, But Tastes Like Homemade Fluff
Today we’re making homemade fluff aka marshmallow creme. I’ve actually taught you how to make it several times before:
- No Bake S’mores Cake
- Brownie Baked Alaska
- S’mores Chocolate Mousse
- Chocolate Mousse Pie
- S’mores Brownie Cupcakes
- Ultimate Birthday Cupcakes
- Chai Pumpkin Meringue Pie
It’s basically Swiss Meringue Buttercream, just without the butter. But don’t let the word “meringue” frighten you. This is an astonishingly simple mixture that you can use as a frosting, filling, or topping on MANY different confections. You only need 4 ingredients, a stovetop, and a mixer. It’s similar to traditional “7 minute frosting”, but doesn’t contain corn syrup or water.
What Does Marshmallow Creme Taste Like?
Marshmallow creme is everything we love about marshmallows, but in semi-liquified form. It’s extra creamy, soft, and sweet and pairs wonderfully with a variety of flavors like chocolate, peanut butter, banana, pumpkin, spice, lemon, etc. When toasted, it tastes like a marshmallow roasted over a campfire!
Unlike store-bought marshmallow fluff, this makes an excellent frosting because it can be piped. (Store-bought isn’t stable enough.) It doesn’t hold any intricate shapes, but pipes beautifully with a large round tip like Ateco 808, pictured above on chocolate cupcakes and below on S’mores Brownie Cupcakes.
Just 4 Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make homemade marshmallow creme. Though the written recipe is below, I want to walk through these ingredients so you understand the importance of each.
- Egg Whites: Egg whites and sugar form the structure. For best success, I recommend using fresh eggs instead of carton egg whites. (Using an egg separator is really handy!) Here are all my recipes using leftover egg yolks. Success tip: Eggs separate much easier when they’re cold.
- Granulated Sugar: Use regular granulated sugar, not confectioners’ sugar.
- Cream of Tartar: If you’ve made our French macarons, you’ll remember that cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites and helps the mixture hold its stiff peaks. It does the same job here—certainly an imperative ingredient. Sometimes lemon juice can be used as a substitute, but I don’t recommend it here. For best results, you need cream of tartar.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds wonderful flavor.
How to Make Homemade Marshmallow Creme & Video Tutorial
While it certainly looks fancy, homemade marshmallow creme couldn’t be easier to make. This is a simple 4 ingredient mixture cooked on the stovetop, then beaten into stiff peaks.
Begin by whisking the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar together in a double boiler or heat-proof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Continue whisking until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thinned out. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract, then use your mixer and whip on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form. Whipping is where the magic happens. It’s fun to watch the mixture transform from a thin liquid to voluminous fluff—literally a big puffy cloud.
You can toast homemade fluff using a kitchen torch (affiliate link—this is the torch I own and love) like I do in my no-bake s’mores cake, bourbon sweet potato pie, brownie baked Alaska, s’mores brownie cupcakes, and s’mores chocolate mousse.
Uses for Homemade Marshmallow Fluff
- topping for banana cream pie or pumpkin pie
- as a filling for crepes
- frosted on chocolate cupcakes or peanut butter cupcakes
- piped & toasted on coconut cake or red velvet cake
- swirled on pumpkin cupcakes or lemon cupcakes
- between two graham crackers
- spread & toasted on homemade brownies
- as the filling for oatmeal creme pies
- in s’mores cookie bars
- as the filling for cream-filled chocolate cupcakes
- as a completely homemade option for topping pumpkin cupcakes with marshmallow frosting
- wherever you would use marshmallow fluff!
It’s excellent as a filling for cupcakes, but I find it squishes easily between layers of cake. I don’t recommend using it as a filling for cake, but you could certainly use it to frost the outside of a cake.
Print
Homemade Marshmallow Creme (Frosting)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made without all the preservatives and high fructose corn syrup of the store-bought version, this extra creamy and sweet homemade marshmallow creme will quickly become your new favorite. So many uses!
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan filled with two inches of simmering water. Do not let it touch the water. (You can use a double boiler if you have one.)
- Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thinned out, about 4 minutes. The mixture will be thick and tacky at first, then thin out and appear frothy on top. To test that it’s ready, you can use your finger or an instant read thermometer. Lightly and quickly dip your finger (it’s very hot, be careful) and rub the mixture between your thumb and finger. You shouldn’t feel any sugar granules. If using a thermometer, the temperature should read 160°F (71°C).
- Remove from heat. (No need to let it cool down before continuing.) Add the vanilla extract, then using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes.
- Meringue can be spread, piped, or swirled onto cakes, cupcakes, and other confections. Serve immediately OR torch it with a kitchen torch for a delicious toasted marshmallow topping. (Do not place in the oven under the broiler—it will melt.)
- Cover and store leftovers for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Baked goods topped with this marshmallow meringue can be left at room temperature for up to 6-8 hours. After that, it’s best to refrigerate or else the topping will begin to wilt. For best taste, texture, and appearance, I do not recommend freezing this.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Double Boiler | Whisk | Instant Read Thermometer | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Kitchen Torch
- Smaller or larger batch: Recipe may easily be halved, 1.5x, or doubled. Less volume will cook quicker on the stove and beat into stiff peaks quicker. More volume will take a little longer in both steps.
- Eggs: For best success, I recommend using fresh eggs instead of carton egg whites. Here are all my recipes using leftover egg yolks. Success tip: Eggs separate much easier when they’re cold.
Hi Sally. I love your recipes (and always recommend them to others). I’d like to use this recipe to top your banana cream pie. My husband only likes banana cream pie with meringue, and my pie has been getting super weepy lately – like a puddle at the bottom of the pie dish that I can pour out. I’ve tried using yellow (and yellow with even a small tinge of green) bananas AND I’ve been making sure to seal the meringue on the pie to the edges to avoid the weeping. No luck. Any suggestions for using this recipe on top of your banana cream pie recipe to avoid the weepiness?
Hi Kristy, it’s best to pipe this frosting as close to serving time as possible. The meringue will begin to weep as it absorbs moisture from the air.
Can store-bought egg whites work in this recipe
Hi BonnyJean, for best success (and taste!) we strongly recommend fresh eggs in this recipe, but you can try carton egg whites as long as they are 100% egg whites. (Most cartons give equivalents to fresh egg whites.)
Yum, I don’t usually like marshmallows- my daughter does but even I reached for seconds. It says layering is not recommended but I used a frosting base layer and frosting “dam” like Sally does for her fruit filling cakes and it held nicely on a two layer cake (used the triple chocolate cake recipe). Great recipe!
I’ve used this for cakes and cupcakes and it always turns out great. I recently saw a recipe for peanut butter and fluff cookies… you essentially fold marshmallow fluff into the cookie dough and bake. I was curious if this homemade fluff could be baked? The recipe calls for store bought but would love to try homemade if possible, but wasn’t sure how homemade would withstand being baked.
Hi Stephanie, Yes, this marshmallow creme should be ok in a recipe like that! We use it in our S’more Cookie Bars. Enjoy!
I loved this recipe so much
Made this yesterday and it was delicious and worked great! I was wondering though the best way to have the frosting keep its shape? I put some on the counter, some in the fridge covered and some in the fridge uncovered. The ones in the fridge uncovered kept their shape but the others slowly deflated/wilted. I’m making s’mores cupcakes for a friend’s baby shower and want them to stay pretty as long as I can. Thanh’s!
Hi Chelsea, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! This is very soft frosting, but it sounds like your batch could have benefitted from a couple extra minutes of beating. Did it reach stiff peaks? It also doesn’t hold intricate piping shapes well, so we recommend a large round piping tip for a simple design that will hold shape. For the shower, baked goods topped with this marshmallow meringue can be left at room temperature for up to 6-8 hours. After that, it’s best to refrigerate or else the topping will begin to wilt. Hope this helps for your next batch!
I tried this recipe today, but I will say it is not accurate. It tastes awesome, but the instructions in step 3 for whipping with a mixer is wrong. You need to mix with beater on higher over heat, not removed from heat. I spent 8 minutes beating and it was still runny. I took a chance and eeturned it to heat and it worked great. Within a few minutes, soft peaks formed. So do your mixing over heat, not removed from heat as listed in step 3
What am I doing wrong? I cannot get it to fluff. I’ve tried three different times with two different hand mixers and a kitchenaid mixer.
I did not use a thermometer but I did do the test between my fingers and it was smooth.
Hi Jim, Keep on whipping it. If you cooked the egg whites/sugar/cream of tartar long enough, the mixture will reach stiff peaks eventually. Is it particularly humid where you live? It could simply need a few extra minutes of whipping to reach stiff peaks.
Fluffer-nutter on toast, better yet toasted french bread!!!
If I plan on piping this onto cupcakes, do I place it in the piping bag immediately after making? And if so, can it be refrigerated until ready to pipe? Thank you!
Hi Kathy, yes, you can do that. You can pipe it when it’s cold.
Sounds great! Would this work on an ice cream pie, or would another type meringue work better?
Hi Patricia, Sure! You can top your pies right before serving. Enjoy!
So easy and the perfect frosting for my smore cake! Wish I could post a pic of how amazing it looks 🙂 tastes just like a toasted marshmallow!
Made this as a topping on Sally’s coconut pie. It was delicious and tasted just like marshmallow fluff. Next time I will try more of a traditional airy meringue on the pie, but I can see how this would make a fabulous frosting. It doesn’t have the volume of French meringue.
Hi Sally, im making this recipe for my Thanksgiving sweet potatos, do you think that I can pipe this on while the potatoes are still warm? Thank you and I love your recipes
Hi Gigi, somehow I missed this question. I would wait until the potatoes are mostly cool before adding this. Is that what you did? How did it turn out?
Hello. May I know how long this last in the fridge? Can’t wait to use this as topping in my drinks- hot cocoa, s’mores latte ❤️ thank you!
Hi Steph, up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Hello! The ingredients are similar to an Italian meringue, does the cream tastes the same?
Hi Lera, yes, this is essentially Italian meringue!
Terrific. Thanks for the no corn syrup recipe. I think this is more like a Swiss meringue than Italian, though, because the eggs are heated with the sugar, instead of a high heat sugar syrup cooking the cool eggs.