I was craving a Hostess cake, and that literally was what inspired me making these. I specifically wanted a chocolate cake stuffed with a marshmallow, with a chocolate ganache glaze. So I figured, especially since I had a lot of spare egg whites lying around, that I could use one of the egg whites to make some homemade marshmallow fluff. However, marshmallow fluff is extremely sweet. It’s basically whipped sugar, aerated with pasteurized egg whites. And as much as I love dessert, I don’t love overtly sweet desserts. So I thought about some creative ways to temper the inherent sweetness of the marshmallow fluff. And one solution I came up with was toasting it! I love toasted marshmallows because they have a smokiness and a bitterness from the caramelized exterior, and if a S’more is proof of anything, toasted marshmallow and chocolate are a match made in heaven. And then I figured, let’s go that route, but with a Hostess cake-type of petit gateau! From an aesthetic standpoint, I figured using these cute little edible star glitter sprinkles would make the cakes loosely resemble a night’s sky. Between the aesthetic and the fact that I was craving Hostess cakes when I should have been sleeping, I had the perfect name for these: “Midnight Snack”.

For my components, we have a black cacao-infused chiffon cake, a crunchy cake base made from the cake crumbs, a toasted marshmallow fluff, and a glaze ganache. A heads up, this recipe becomes extremely easy if you own a stand mixer or at least an electronic mixer. If you don’t, I hope you have a lot of arm strength, because you will be whipping a lot of egg whites between the marshmallow fluff and the chiffon cake. With the chiffon cake, it is very important to a. make sure you whip your egg whites to stiff peaks for optimal fluffiness, and b. while the cake is still warm, press that into the silicone half-sphere molds so that you have those gorgeous domed tops for the cakes. Originally, I was going to use more cake for the cake bases, but I found myself running low on cake after cutting out the rounds that I pressed into the molds to form the tops, so that’s when I decided to take the cake scraps, mix them with melted chocolate and cacao nibs, roll that out, and cut out these little cake disks to use instead. The marshmallow fluff is a hybrid between a Swiss meringue and a homemade marshmallow, first started with whipped egg whites, gelatin powder, sugar over a double boiler, and then after whipping it into a stiff fluff and blowtorching it to caramelize the sugars, you have this nutty, not-too-sweet whipped filling that stuffs each cake. With the leftover marshmallow fluff, I actually rolled it out and made kind of like a pseudo marshmallow fondant meets marshmallow “veil” situation. I also went with a chocolate ganache glaze, just as another homage to your classic Hostess cake.

Makes 6 servings:
For the chocolate chiffon cake:
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup black cacao powder

In a bowl, whip the egg whites with granulated sugar until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with canola oil, salt, and vanilla first, then whip into that the milk. Sift into the egg yolk bowl your flour and cacao powder(do not mix anything yet), then fold through that(this is when you start mixing) the whipped egg whites to form your batter. Pour and spread the batter onto a parchment or silpat-lined quarter sheet tray and bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes. While the cake is still warm, cut out 6 5-inch rounds, and quickly press those into silicone 2 3/4-inch half sphere molds. With the scraps, break them up into smaller crumbs, as we will be use those for the bases.

For the cake bases:
1/4 cup dark chocolate, melted
1/2 cup finely ground cake crumbs
1oz cacao nibs

In a bowl, mix everything together until an almost-paste like substance forms. Spread the mixture between two parchment sheets, rolling them out into a 1/8-inch thin, even layer and refrigerate this until set, about 5 minutes. Cut out 1 1/2-inch disks from the layer.

For the toasted marshmallow fluff:
1 egg white
3 tbsps granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar*
1 tsp gelatin powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl over a double boiler, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, gelatin, xanthan gum, and salt until the egg whites are frothy and the sugar and gelatin powder are fully dissolved into the egg whites. Transfer the bowl from the double boiler into a stand mixer bowl. Add to the mixture your vanilla extract and whip everything together with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form and the marshmallow fluff is tripled in volume. Using a blowtorch, toast the top of the marshmallow fluff. Re-whip the fluff until homogenous, and then toast the top again. Re-whip again, repeating this process as least 2 more times. You want the fluff to have specks of caramelized bits running throughout it. Transfer the fluff into a piping bag for assembly.

For initial assembly:
Start by piping the marshmallow fluff into each silicone mold that was already lined with chiffon cake. Press on top of that the cake bases. Freeze these solid for easier removal. With the remaining fluff, spread that between two sheets of parchment paper and freeze this solid. Cut out squares from the marshmallow fluff to be used as garnish on top of the cakes.

For the glaze ganache:
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

In a pot, heat up the cream, butter, and salt on medium until the butter is fully melted into the cream. Pour that mixture over the chocolate chips, allowing everything to sit before mixing together until combined. Keep the ganache lukewarm for final assembly.

For final assembly:
Either dip the cakes into the ganache, or pour the ganache over the cakes, allowing the excess to drip off. Transfer the cakes to the refrigerator for a least 20 minutes to allow the ganache to firm up before garnishing the tops of the cakes with the marshmallow fluff squares to finish.