Strawberries in bruleed marshmallow crème
By far, the recipe on this blog that’s received the most attention is the one for s’mores cupcakes. And why not? They’re certainly eye-pleasing, and they contain all of the essential campfire ingredients minus the “Survivor”-esque wilderness trek (an experience that’s harrowing for some, I’m sure).
Anyhow, in that particular post, I mentioned that the frosting can be used as a crème with strawberries or peach slices for a twist on the fruit ‘n cream concept. Forgive me if I’m drilling this idea into your memory by ways of yet another mention, but I really must insist. Especially when strawberries are involved.
When you pair strawberries and marshmallow crème (and we’re not talking the jarred marshmallow stuff), you’re getting two kinds of sweet. From the strawberry, there’s the light, floral sweetness the fruit tends to yield when fully ripe. The marshmallow crème offers more of an unnatural sweetness, like the stuff that was in the potent candy you used to be addicted to when you were a kid. It’s a fantastic combination, especially for those of us trying hard to keep our childlike qualities with every facial wrinkle we earn. These little nuggets of heaven satisfy both our inner kids and the grown-ups we’ve become.
Now, I don’t mean to wax poetic about marshmallow strawberries (because it makes me sound, and feel, like a total weirdo), but I can’t seem to better explain why I really love these little treats. So here’s the simple version of what I’m trying to say: They’re just awesome.
I call them tortured strawberries, because you do have to torch them, albeit very lightly. But they don’t look the least bit tortured, do they? They look kind of snug, all swaddled into little pillowy bundles. I bet they actually like being torched. Perhaps they would be willing to suffer even more agony by a sprinkling of crushed Oreo cookies or a drizzling of caramel. The possibilities are far too much for me to handle right now.
On second thought, perhaps the one being tortured in all of this is me.
(Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe)
It might be fun to have your friends dip and torch their own strawberries. Use skewers, a communal bowl of marshmallow crème (recipe below) and a small blowtorch to pass around the table. These strawberries don’t keep too well (the moisture from the strawberries makes the crème separate from them if left in the fridge too long), so eat them as soon as possible. Though, that last part may not be a problem for you at all.
TORTURED STRAWBERRIES (STRAWBERRIES IN BRULEED MARSHMALLOW CRÈME)
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Pinch cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
- 1 pound strawberries, rinsed and dried
Procedure:
1. Add egg whites and sugar to the stainless steel mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Using whisk attachment, whisk on medium-high speed until sugar is incorporated and whites form soft peaks, about 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add in cream of tartar, vanilla and salt. Whisk on high speed for about a minute or so. Crème is done when it’s glossy and holding stiff peaks.
3. Dip and swirl a strawberry into crème. Using a blowtorch (or gas burner, if you are using skewers), brown crème as desired. Place on serving plate (or in mouth!) and serve immediately.
– Cynthia Furey
August 12th, 2009 at 8:33 am
holy god. i’m in love.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:42 am
I love this! I don’t know why I have an infatuation with marshmallows, but it’s there, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I think I’m going to enjoy these even more than chocolate-dipped strawberries.
August 12th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Oh my gosh. This is the most decadent looking strawberry I’ve ever seen. They put chocolate covered strawberries in the corner! You are a genius.
August 12th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
WOW what a fantastic idea!!!! i can just imagine how wonderful they are! I am going to make!
August 12th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
This might be my new favorite thing!
August 12th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Incredible! I’ll probably do this, like, tomorrow.
August 12th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Seriously, such a genius idea. They look awesome.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I am so glad to have found your site! These look amazing!!
August 12th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Me want.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I’m not into marshmallows but this may just change my mind. They look awesome!
August 13th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Wow I have been a chef for over 20 years and I thought I had seen pretty much every dessert there was to see but this is totally new to me! Love the way anybody can learn from anybody in cooking! These look lovely and I would say the textures are gorgeous!
August 13th, 2009 at 9:49 am
These taste even better than they look! Definitely one of my new favorites!
August 13th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Niyaz, Christian, Val: I’ll make these for you the next time we meet up! We should have a food bloggers potluck.
Allison: Do let me know if you make it, I would love to hear your thoughts. I’m a HUGE marshmallow fan, too!
Michelle: I’m blushing, thank you for the kind words!
Jen: Also let me know of your thoughts. I’m a little nervous that the recipe may only be a good one in my own eyes (and I’ve got a fairly weird palate).
ABowlOfMush: I am really digging your blog title
Elissa: You are very kind
carri: Thank you. Your blog title is great too!!
Jessica: Thank you so much!
Devin: I love you to pieces. Thank you for being my cheerleader, taste tester and for designing this blog. I am so happy with you.
To all: Thank you for the kind words and for reading my little blog. There are something like 45,000 food blogs out there and I’m SO grateful you’ve visited mine.
August 13th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Wow they are adorable! such a cute idea!
August 13th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I love this idea! What a perfect summer treat. This made me think of a recipe I was testing for a strawberry yogurt marshmallow. This is way easier and looks more appealing.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I saw this at tastespotting, and was absolutely blown away! wow…how does your mind work in such ingenious ways?
August 15th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I hate to admit this but I literally dreamed about these last night.
August 19th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Ben: All that coming from a veteran chef completely floors me, thank you.
Jessica, Gastro and Sophia: Thank you for the kind words! I really hope you like them if you decide to make them. Let me know how it goes!
Christian: Hah! My blog is haunting your dreams!! I hope they weren’t giant-sized or nightmarish with evil faces.
Good days to all!
August 20th, 2009 at 7:26 am
[...] Strawberries in bruleed marshmallow crème:The author describes it best: “So here’s the simple version of what I’m trying to say: They’re just awesome” [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Such a brilliant idea, (and I’m sure you didn’t hear it first from me!)
Thanks for posting and for sharing!
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
quite inventive, never tried marshmallow creme at all, not to mention with the poor tormented strawberries. I’m curious.
August 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Ooh what an AWESOME idea. I’m glad my boyfriend isn’t here to see this or else he’d send me back down to the store for berries.
August 24th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Made these for a family birthday celebration–fantastic idea, fantastic recipe, fantastic dessert! Everyone loved these.
I experimented a little and rolled the skewered and fluffed strawberries in caster sugar before torching them. The burnt sugar crust gave a little more crunch on that first bite, but makes it trickier to brown perfectly.
Thank you so much for sharing your brilliant idea!
August 30th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Adelina, Heidi and Anna: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you do get to try tortured strawberries before the summer is over.
Jen: I am so glad they worked for you! And what a great innovation. I love the idea of caster sugar.
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 am
How fantastic! I’d rather have tortured strawberries than happy ’smores (don’t get me wrong – I’d prefer to have them both, but if I had to choose . . . ) The photos are gorgeous!
November 28th, 2009 at 9:47 am
[...] of my favorite food blogs, Furey and the Feast, where Cynthia used it (minus the cranberry jam) to coat big fat red strawberries. You’ll notice my créme recipe calls for white vinegar. I used it in place of cream of [...]
January 15th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
[...] Commission this week launched its iPhone app featuring 50 recipes from chefs and fellow bloggers. One of my recipes is included (toot!). There’s all kinds of stuff in there ranging from cocktails to desserts, and [...]
February 25th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Yummy but fragile composition. Thank you for the idea. The coated strawberries in your pictures look fresh and tasty.
April 4th, 2010 at 9:21 am
tortured strawberries…so succinctly perfect! like a little haiku…except the name suggests a little tragic love haiku…just proves that simple is usually best. can’t wait to try making these.
April 8th, 2010 at 7:16 am
Creative Plus Plus!
November 23rd, 2010 at 7:17 pm
These look delicious! I’m just wondering, as I have a torch, but not a stand mixer (or a mix master for that matter!) can these be done with jarred marshmallow? I’m sure the quality is not the same, but has anyone tried?
March 4th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
The strawberried in bruleed marshmallow creme is just simply Delicious. Yummmm
March 7th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
These look incredible – what a fabulous idea!
December 13th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
I am a long time ago I read your blog and has long been saying that you’re a great writer
January 7th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
I made these tonight, they tasted amazing!
I did find that the marshmallow didn\’t want to stick to the strawberry and came off on the plate…I experimented with letting them cool on the skewer, to no avail. Other than beating the creme more (I was doing it by hand, so didn\’t quite get to a stiff peak,) can you think of any other way to make the final product stick together more?
Much appreciated!
January 25th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Not so bad. Interesting things here
January 27th, 2012 at 7:31 am
Lately, I didn’t give lots of consideration to leaving feedback on blog page posts and have placed comments even much less.