Birthday Cake Marshmallow Recipe

With a fluffy marshmallow base, pale yellow color, cake batter flavor, and crunchy rainbow nonpareils sprinkles on top, this homemade birthday cake marshmallow recipe looks and tastes just like a slice of birthday cake!

Birthday Cake Marshmallow Ingredients

• Gelatin – Gelatin creates the spongy, fluffy marshmallow texture. Although this recipe calls for powdered gelatin, these marshmallows can just as easily be made with leaves as well. See this post for conversions and other helpful hints.
• Granulated Sugar – Along with light corn syrup, granulated sugar gives homemade marshmallows their sweetness. You can replace the granulated with another grainy white sugar, like caster sugar, measure by weight rather than volume. 
• Corn Syrup – I test most of my homemade marshmallow recipes with Golden Barrel corn syrup but you can also use Light Karo Syrup. If you are in the UK and do not have access to corn syrup, substitute liquid glucose instead.
• Salt – A small amount of fine sea salt (or table salt) cuts the sweetness of the marshmallow.

• Cake Batter Flavoring – I purchased a bottle of cake batter flavoring from LorAnn Oils, but there are a number of cake batter oils and extracts available on Amazon. Feel free to experiment to see which one works best for you. (And save the rest of the bottle to make my birthday cake ice cream recipe, too!) You can also flavor your marshmallow fluff with vanilla bean paste, or even do a red velvet cake version! 
• Gel Food Coloring – I chose yellow gel food coloring to mimic the colors of a slice of yellow cake, but you can also tint your marshmallows pink or blue, or omit the food coloring for a more natural “white cake” look.
• Rainbow Nonpareil Sprinkles – You’ll need plenty of rainbow nonpareils sprinkles for the fluff and the crunchy coating. I suggest buying your sprinkles in bulk—supermarkets usually only sell sprinkles in small containers, and buying the 2-3 of them you’ll need for this recipe as isn’t cost-effective as purchasing a bulk bag. As a bonus, you can use the extra sprinkles to make slice and bake rainbow heart cookies, miniature dot cakes, or a cake roll with funfetti buttercream.
• Potato Starch and Confectioner’s Sugar – Potato starch and confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar) create the powdery coating that prevents the marshmallows from sticking together. If you can’t find potato starch, you can replace it with an equal amount of cornstarch (cornflour) instead.

Birthday Cake Marshmallow Recipe Tips & Tricks

• Add sprinkles, then remove. If you want to coat one side of the marshmallow slab in sprinkles, do it before you remove your slab from the metal tin. It’s much easier (and less messy!) to pour the sprinkles on top of the marshmallow mixture while it’s still in the tin. The top of the slab will also be the stickiest, since it hasn’t been coated in oil.

• Cut creatively. You can cut your marshmallow slab any way you’d like. Six rows of six works well for 36 average-sized marshmallows. Or, you can cut four rows of four 16 large (brownie-sized!) marshmallows. Alternately, you can use a well-oiled metal biscuit cutter to cut the slab into shapes—see my strawberry heart marshmallows for an example.

• Use a candy thermometer. Do not attempt this recipe without a candy thermometer. If you under-cook the syrup, the marshmallows won’t set; if you over-cook, you’ll make caramel instead. I love this one, by Taylor.

• Oil your knife. Before slicing, coat your chef’s knife in vegetable or olive oil, and keep the bottle nearby so you can reapply as necessary. Using a sharp, well-oiled knife makes slicing the sticky marshmallow slab so much easier.

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Birthday Cake Marshmallows

Recipe by becky

• Total TimeAbout 5 hours, including resting time
• Yield1 8x8 inch tin 1x

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A birthday cake marshmallow recipe with plenty of rainbow sprinkles!

Ingredients

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Marshmallows:

Nonstick spray, for greasing tin and knife
240 milliliters water (1 cup), divided
20 grams powdered gelatin* (2 tablespoons)
400 grams granulated sugar (2 cups)
160 grams corn syrup (1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon cake batter flavoring
Yellow gel food coloring
45 grams rainbow nonpareils sprinkles (3 tablespoons)

Coating:

50 grams potato starch or cornstarch (1/3 cup)
50 grams confectioner’s sugar (1/3 cup)
Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles, for coating

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Instructions

Marshmallows:

Line an 8×8-inch square tin with parchment in a criss-cross pattern, allowing a 1-inch overhang on all sides. Spray generously with nonstick spray.

Pour 120 milliliters (1/2 cup) water into a large mixing bowl (if using a hand mixer), or the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle powdered gelatin evenly over the water. Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, remaining water, and fine sea salt. Bring to a boil and boil, without stirring, until syrup reaches 240° F (116° C) on a candy thermometer.

Carefully pour hot syrup over gelatin. Mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken. Add the cake batter flavoring and yellow gel food coloring and continue to mix on high speed until very thick and voluminous, about 8-9 minutes more.

Add the rainbow nonpareils and mix on low speed for 15-30 seconds, or until just incorporated.

With a well-oiled rubber spatula, scrape marshmallow into prepared tin.

Pour rainbow nonpareils over marshmallow, completely covering the top. With your hands, pat sprinkles to adhere.

Loosely cover tin with an oiled sheet of aluminum foil. Allow to sit at room temperature until set, at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Cutting and Coating:

In a small bowl, whisk potato starch and confectioner’s sugar. Generously dust a large chopping board with the powder.

Lifting by the parchment, carefully remove marshmallow slab from tin. Peel away parchment and arrange on dusted surface, sprinkle side up.

With a sharp, well-oiled chef’s knife, cut the slab into squares. You can cut 6 rows of 6, for 36 average-sized marshmallows, or 16 oversized marshmallows.

Toss each marshmallow in additional starch-sugar mixture, coating all of the sticky sides.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.

 

Equipment

cake batter flavoring

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rainbow nonpareils

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yellow gel food coloring

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Notes

*This recipe can also be made with leaf gelatin. See this post for conversions/recipe adjustments and other helpful hints.

Pay careful attention to the way you line your tin. Not enough parchment or oil, and your marshmallow will stick to the tin.

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Resting Time: 4 hours
• Category: Candy and Confectionery
• Method: Stovetop

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Layer birthday cake marshmallows between sheets of wax paper or parchment. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three weeks.

Other Homemade Marshmallow Recipes You Might Enjoy

Mint Chocolate Chip Marshmallows
Cookies and Cream Marshmallows
Strawberry Marshmallows
Classic Vanilla Bean Marshmallows
Watermelon Marshmallows

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!