Leftover Easter Candy: Marshmallow Tart With Shaved Chocolate

I’m 28 years old and my folks still sent me an Easter basket. It was an unexpected and welcome surprise. I suppose one’s never too old to feel giddy about receiving a brightly colored wicker basket overflowing with chocolates and colorful hard candies from Abdallah’s. When I was growing up, my parents would let me tag along to this candy store in Burnsville, MN. We always bought my mom nicely-wrapped boxes of dark chocolate turtles for special occasions like her birthday and Mother’s Day. They were her favorite.

My folks still sent me Easter baskets in college. One year, I remember my roommates giggling as I unwrapped a chocolate Calvary portraying three crosses on a hill. I was confused, as I thought everyone received chocolate biblical scenes at Easter.

We found two solid milk chocolate bunnies this year. Neither Jake or I eat a lot of candy so I wondered to transform some of my Easter basket into baking projects.

Marshmallow pie came to mind as I thought of my chocolate bunnies. During my first year and a half in Fargo, I worked with a wonderful woman named Becky who told me about a marshmallow pie she always made for her father on his birthday. It’s been months since we’ve spoken of marshmallow pie, but I was still intrigued by the concept.

I remembered the basic pie preparation instructions shared and did a little extra internet research so I could create my own pie crust. Graham cracker pie crust recipes seem to be essentially the same, but I preferred this recipe by Saguaro on Food.com because it contained the least amount of sugar. I also adapted the pie filling from the blog Just Everyday Me because it adds real, whipped cream.

This unusual pie is refreshing. The marshmallow filling is light and fluffy and contrasts with the crunchy, sweet and salty crust. I don’t enjoy heavy and chocolate-laden desserts, but a small piece of this pie with hot coffee makes me feel little closer to heaven, especially on this snowy April weekend.

Marshmallow Tart with Shaved Chocolate Easter Bunny

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients:
9 whole graham crackers, crushed or blended into crumbs (1 sleeve)
5 Tablespoons melted butter, salted or unsalted
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 pinch cinnamon
2 pinches of sea salt (about 1/4 teaspoon).

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
  2. Crush the graham crackers into crumbs. I used a blender, but you could use a food processor or place the crackers in a bag and crush them with a mallet or you hands.
  3. Place the crumbs into a bowl and combine with melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt.
  4. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. I used a nonstick tart pan. If your pan is not nonstick, you may want to grease the pan and cover the bottom with parchment paper.
  5. Bake until golden brown. Cool.

Marshmallow Filling

Ingredients:
30 large marshmallows
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 1 cup of grated chocolate. I used one, solid milk chocolate bunny

Instructions:

  1. Heat the marshmallows and milk together in a double boiler and stir until melted and smooth. If you don’t have a double boiler, create one by placing a larger bowl over a smaller saucepan of of simmering water. A double boiler will heat the mixture gently and prevent scorching.
  2. Allow the mixture to cool so that it doesn’t melt the whipped cream and chocolate shavings. To expedite the cooling process, plate the mixture in the freezer and stir occasionally.
  3. Add the vanilla extract to the heavy cream. Whip until it forms stiff peaks. Don’t over-whip or it will separate into butter.
  4. Once the marshmallow mixture is cooled, gently fold in the whipped cream and half of the grated chocolate. Pour into the tart shell. Sprinkle the top with the remaining shaved chocolate and place in the refrigerator to set.

4 Comments

  1. Beth Ann Chiles

    Giggling over your chocolate calvary treat. Nothing says Happy Easter like that!

    • Jeni Flaa

      I wasn’t kidding when I shared I grew up in an Evangelical household:)

  2. Barbara

    We had this at Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was a child, it is still a favorite but not something we have every holiday. We call it Chocolate Chip Pie.

    • Jeni Flaa

      It’s a fun treat that I’ve never heard of before. Sounds like it’s a family tradition for many.

Leave a Reply to Jeni Flaa Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2024 Jeni Eats

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑

Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
INSTAGRAM