First off, how much fun is this animated GIF?! And it’s so easy to make. I use Photoshop Elements and this took me maybe 15 minutes start to finish, including photo editing. Gotta love those people who post YouTube tutorials! You can rest assured that if something I make has layers you’ll be seeing one of these again.
This sweet dessert is inspired by the s’mores pot de creme at Sweet Houston. Their version is a little different. They have a layer of chocolate cake crumbles (I think) along with the graham layer, chocolate mousse (or maybe it’s pudding) and marshmallow cream. They come in darling little glass jars, but I found that these Beechnut baby food jars work just as well!
The name of this retro dessert in the cookbook I found it in is chocolate marlow, but I figured that while that might intrigue some people, it would be better to describe it more…descriptively. It’s a chocolate and marshmallow mousse that’s frozen then topped with whipped cream, sugar coated graham crackers and some chopped chocolate. In other words, amazing.
If you like the flavors of a s’more but want something a little different and dressed up, then you’ll love this. The marshmallow flavor is there but is not overwhelming or cloying. The graham crackers are baked with egg white and a sprinkling of sugar that transforms them into something really incredible. There’s a terrific crunch from the sugar and a kind of toasted-ness that makes these a perfect garnish. I’d definitely make more graham crackers next time since they’re also a good alternative to a spoon or fork!
After making a chocolate base of marshmallow, chocolate and milk it is chilled then folded in with whipped cream. After a 1 hour chill in the freezer it is perfectly scoop-able. If you allow it to harden completely in the freezer you need to let it sit out for 20-30 minutes before scooping.
After scooping I decided topping this with a little sweetened whipped cream couldn’t hurt anybody. A couple of the graham crackers and a square of chocolate top this off perfectly.
Crumble up the graham crackers over everything before enjoying!
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used 4 ounces semisweet and 2 ounces 60% cocoa) chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
Sugared Crackers
4 whole graham crackers (or more)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
granulated sugar
Garnish
Sweetened whipped cream
chocolate squares
Directions
Mousse
Combine the marshmallows, milk and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until marshmallows are melted completely and mixture is smooth.
Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour in the refrigerator.
Whip cream to soft peaks and stir in vanilla.
Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture,
Scoop into a 2 quart souffle dish and freeze for 1 hour.
Sugared Graham Crackers
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lay crackers out on cookie sheet. Brush each with the egg white, then sprinkle evenly with sugar.
Bake for about 5 minutes, then let cool completely and break into pieces.
Assemble
If mousse is still scoop-able, scoop into dessert bowls. If it is too hard to scoop, let warm up a bit.
Top with whipped cream, a couple of crackers and a chocolate square.
First thing’s first…I cheated. I did not make the graham wafers. I am a terrible person. I promise to make them another time, pinky promise! I just did not have the time. Well, that is only partially true. I could have had the time if I’d actually looked at my January commitments and planned ahead. This last week of January finds me in San Diego for 3 days for a conference for work, two days at home in Amarillo and then I head to Austin for 4 days for my sister’s baby shower and grandpa’s 90th birthday celebration. AND I have to somehow fit in the baking of a few dozen cut-out bird cookies for the shower. When it rains it pours, people.
The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.
Now you’re thinking, “She’s a double cheater!” You’re right. I didn’t even consider trying to make anything gluten free. Again, the lack of time and my laziness got the better of me! Also, I think I like gluten. It sounds like glutton…
I had to make the bars before I left for sunny (sorta) San Diego in order to get them done before the craziness began. When you’re a cheater like me and you use store-bought graham crackers these bars come together very quickly. You have to give them some time in the fridge before enjoying them, but other than that they are quick and simple.
After chilling in the fridge they have a beautiful hard chocolate-y layer which innocently hides the sweet soft vanilla layer beneath it. I was not thinking about this HARD chocolate layer when I took a knife to these bars. All, or almost all, of the chocolate cracked and popped off the top of the bars. I should have waited a few minutes after taking them from the fridge to let the chocolate soften a bit and adhere to the creamy layer. You live, you learn.
Even with the shattered chocolate layer, which I managed to somehow replace on a few pieces, these were very delicious. I will be making these again. Delicious.
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)
Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar
Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter
Directions
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.
These little, unassuming bite-size goodies made quite an impression last weekend. I brought them to a Christmas party where they were completely devoured and raved about. I saw one of the party guests 2 days later and she asked me for the recipe. I hadn’t had such a great response to a dessert in, well…ever! I wish I could say they were my own creation, but alas, they were not. I got the recipe in my 12 Days of Cookies email from the Food Network. This was Day 10: Sunny’s Crunchy Peanut Butter S’more Bites.
If you go to the Food Network site and read the review on these cookies, you will wonder why I made them. Bad reviews on taste and preparation. What was I thinking? Well, I wasn’t. However, with a few modifications to the recipe, they taste yummy (still very sweet of course) but still make quite a mess of your kitchen. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good!
