Anything Whipped Cream Can Do, Marshmallow Whip Can Do Better
by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor Spirited Table®—All content provided by Joe Sevier
Ube Pie with Marshmallow Cream - IG
Pipe it on a purple pie for panache and pizzazz.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
It was the first time I’d seen my parents in person since the pandemic began. My partner and I had driven 18 hours over two days. We’d taken the scenic route through the totally beautiful—and occasionally painfully slow—Shenandoah National Park’s Skyline Drive. We were tired of being in the car. We were tired, period. I was happy, at least, that we’d sprung for the upgraded lumbar support. And my mother could not stop talking about how good the whipped cream was.
To be fair, we’d pulled into their driveway about 24 hours prior, so there’d been plenty of time for hugs and other pleasantries, plus plenty of relaxation and the stretching necessary following a two-day road trip. That night we grilled chicken kebabs on their covered back porch, surrounded by vibrant green hydrangeas. (After having spent a year and a half in my apartment with zero outdoor space, I will never again take for granted the glory that is standing outside while remaining within the comfort of your own home.)
After dinner I pulled out the pie that I’d been testing for work. It’s an ube number from Epi contributor Arlyn Osborne—which I and everyone else who’s tasted it would encourage you to add to your roster of holiday desserts.
The pie is similar in texture to pumpkin and sweet potato pies, but with the distinct flavor of ube, or Philippine purple yams: earthy-sweet with notes of vanilla and pistachio. Osborne told me that when she was developing the pie, she couldn’t decide between whipped cream or marshmallows for the topping. Then, she figured, “you can’t go wrong with both!”
Now, Osborne isn’t asking you to fuss over homemade marshmallows here. Instead, she whips a little jarred marshmallow fluff into heavy cream, which both sweetens the cream and gives it more body than a standard chantilly has. There’s also a little powdered sugar in the mix, which rounds out the sweetness without making your topping too cloying. If you are very into the flavor of marshmallow fluff, you can eliminate the sugar and bump up the fluff from ¼ cup to ⅓ cup. If you go the sugar route, I recommend using an organic brand made with tapioca (not cornstarch) for the best texture.
Marshmallow whip lives somewhere between mainstream whipped cream (which I absolutely love and will eat by the spoonful as dessert whenever necessary) and mousse. It’s cloudlike but with a slightly denser structure than most whipped toppings. And the flavor has the vanilla-laced, candylike essence of marshmallow that, for me, makes it taste like something from childhood.
For the rest of the Whipped Cream vs Marshmallow Whip story…click here!
Marshmallow Whipped Cream - INSET & IG
No hand mixer? A whisk works too—it’ll just take a little longer.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne