5 from 27 votes

Marshmallow Frosting

Name: Marshmallow Frosting
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup granulated sugar; ⅔ cup light corn syrup; 4 large egg whites (room temperature preferred, see notes for recipes that can make use of your leftover egg yolks! ); ½ teaspoon cream of tartar; ⅛ teaspoon table salt; 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

By Sam MerrittPublished Apr 25, 2022

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95 Comments

Servings: 8 cups

35 mins

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I’m sharing my favorite recipe for Marshmallow Frosting today! It’s simple to make, not too sweet, and made completely from scratch. Recipe includes a how-to video!

culinary torch toasting a marshmallow frosting swirl on top of a chocolate cupcake

The Best Homemade Marshmallow Fluff

If you’ve ever been disappointed with marshmallow frosting that wouldn’t fully set up or was just way too sweet, then you need to try my recipe. I’ve cracked the code on how to get the perfect light and fluffy texture, glossy white color, and delicate vanilla marshmallow flavor. And best of all–it’s easy to make, too!

Not only is my marshmallow frosting recipe simple to make, but it’s not overly sweet. In fact, it uses surprisingly less sugar than many of my other frostings, such as my classic buttercream frosting.

Why You’ll Love This Marshmallow Frosting:

Unlike many other recipes out there, this one does not require pre-made marshmallow fluff or pre-made marshmallows–we’re making this completely from scratch!
It’s versatile! This frosting can also be used almost anywhere in place of marshmallow fluff. I recommend you try it on chocolate cupcakes.
This is a butter-free recipe, so it’s a great option if you are out of butter or can’t use butter.
It has a perfectly balanced sweetness, which is often a big complaint with frostings.
The technique is different, but I include lots of tips, notes, and a video to make it easy! The technique is similar to my meringue cookies and Swiss meringue buttercream, and if you’ve tackled my homemade marshmallows recipe you can certainly handle this one!

What You Need

overhead view of ingredients including eggs, corn syrup, vanilla, sugar, and salt

Here are the three key ingredients in today’s marshmallow frosting recipe:

Corn syrup. Corn syrup is NOT the same as high fructose corn syrup, which is an ingredient I (and many of you) generally try to avoid. I use corn syrup because it helps keep the sugars in the frosting from recrystallizing and helps the fluff last longer, hold its shape better longer, and last better when refrigerated.
Egg whites. I don’t recommend using store-bought egg whites (often sold in a carton). People have reported mixed success with these, they will not always whip to stiff peaks (and often say so on the carton), which could make for a frosting that’s too soft/droopy.
Cream of tartar. This is important for stabilizing the frosting and keeping it firm. While some people have reported successfully making meringue without it, I recommend using it (it can usually be found in the spice section of your grocery store) for best results.

SAM’S TIP: For those of you who prefer to bake without corn syrup at all, you can just use the filling for my oatmeal cream pies as a marshmallow frosting.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Marshmallow Frosting

collage of two photos showing how to prepare a double boiler

Fill a medium saucepan with 1-2 inches of water and bring it to a simmer.
Make sure your bowl is completely clean and does not touch the bottom of your pot when resting on top.

collage of four photos showing how to cook and whip marshmallow to make a frosting

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in your bowl, place it on your prepared saucepan, and begin whisking constantly.
Test to make sure the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is ready by rubbing a drop between your fingers and checking the temperature.
Transfer your bowl to your stand mixer and beat the mixture with a whisk attachment until thick, and fluffy stiff peaks form.
Stir in your vanilla until incorporated and use as desired!

SAM’S TIP: This frosting is great to serve as-is, but it’s even better lightly toasted! I bought an inexpensive culinary torch a few years ago (I’ll link to it in the recipe card) and it’s been so worth it for toasting things like meringue and this frosting.

white mixer beater with white icing that's standing up to show stiff peaks

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won’t my marshmallow frosting reach stiff peaks?

If your frosting is not reaching stiff peaks, it’s possible that there was grease in your bowl or whisk, some egg yolk got in with the white, or water got in the bowl. Unfortunately you will have to start over if this happens. However, you may just need to whip it longer!

Does marshmallow frosting need to be refrigerated?

If consuming within two days, the frosting should be fine to sit at room temperature. Any longer than that, and you’ll need to refrigerate!

Does marshmallow frosting harden?

Any part of the frosting that is exposed to air will become firm, much like the exterior of a store-bought marshmallow. However, the interior, everything beneath the outside layer, will remain soft and sticky!

white frosting being piped onto a chocolate cupcake

Stay tuned for a recipe that uses this homemade marshmallow fluff very soon…

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

chocolate cupcake frosted with marshmallow icing that's been toasted with a culinary torch

5 from 27 votes

Marshmallow Frosting

I'm sharing my favorite recipe for marshmallow frosting today! It's so simple to make, not too sweet, and made completely from scratch. Recipe includes a how-to video!

Makes enough to generously cover 12 cupcakes or modestly cover 24 cupcakes or cover one 9×13” cake or one two-layer 8” round cake or one two-layer 9” round cake.

Prep: 30

Cook: 5

Total: 35

Servings: cups

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Equipment

Mixing bowls
Whisk
Medium-sized saucepan or double boiler
Instant read thermometer
Stand mixer (recommended)
Culinary torch (optional, for toasting marshmallow)

Ingredients

▢ ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
▢ ⅔ cup (160 ml) light corn syrup
▢ 4 (130 g) large egg whites, room temperature preferred, see notes for recipes that can make use of your leftover egg yolks!
▢ ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
▢ ⅛ teaspoon table salt
▢ 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Before you begin: prepare a double boiler. I like to use my stainless steel KitchenAid mixing bowl (since I like to do all the mixing with my stand mixer) and a medium-sized saucepan that is large enough to suspend the bowl without it touching the bottom of the pan. Make sure that the bowl that you will be adding your egg whites to is completely clean, dry, and grease-free.
In the bowl that you are using for your double boiler (I use my stand mixer bowl), combine sugar, corn syrup, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt and whisk until well-combined.
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, ⅔ cup (160 ml) light corn syrup, 4 (130 g) large egg whites, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, ⅛ teaspoon table salt
Bring 1-2” of water to a simmer over medium-low heat in the bottom of your double boiler (Note: I use a medium-sized saucepan. Make sure that when the bowl of your double boiler is added to the pot it does not touch the water).
Place the bowl with egg whites over simmering water and whisk constantly until the sugar is dissolved and temperature of mixture reaches at least 160F (70C). Note: if you rub a small amount of the syrup between your fingers, it should feel smooth and not at all gritty. Be careful though, the syrup is hot!
Remove bowl from heat and fit it onto your stand mixer (fitted with a whisk attachment). Slowly increase mixer speed to high and beat on high speed for about 5-10 minutes, until you have thick, billowy, glossy stiff peaks.
Stir in vanilla extract until completely combined.
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Use marshmallow frosting immediately or cover tightly and store at room temperature until ready to use (you may need to re-whip the frosting before using if it sits longer than several hours). If desired, toast frosting using a culinary torch after piping and before serving.