Half a tin of condensed milk,  Pastry

Marshmallow Fudge Tartlets

Another non-traybake post this week. And it does require you to make pastry. (Or you could buy ready-made pastry, there’s no judgment here.) These are called Marshmallow Fudge Tartlets, but it’s more of a ‘Marshmallow Jam Caramel Tartlet’. But the first option is shorter and snappier, so I’m sticking with that. The combination of crisp pastry, tart jam, sweet marshmallow and caramel is a winner.

Now, the recipe calls for halved marshmallows but I also tried making some with Fluff. If you don’t know what this is, it’s ‘spreadable marshmallow creme’. There were pros and cons to both options. The tartlets filled with Fluff were much prettier, as the tops were smooth and flat. But the fluff is softer than marshmallows, so these were also a little gooey to eat (not always a bad thing!) With the halved marshmallows, the filling is firmer but the marshmallow is more obviously visible once the caramel has been poured over the top. And it it the more traditional option. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which to go for. Also, I don’t know if Fluff is readily available outside the US. It’s a bit of a New England tradition, so there’s no problem finding it here.

The recipe says to use raspberry jam, but feel free to use whatever jar you have open. I think these would work well with lots of different flavours. I did once try making these Marshmallow Fudge Tartlets with Nutella instead and it just didn’t work as well. So I’m sticking with the jam now.

The pastry may seem a little daunting if you’ve not made much pastry before. It is a pretty soft dough, but it’s also straightforward. And, as you can see from the photos, mine don’t look too neat or uniform. I find that taste matters most when it comes to traybakes and sweet treats. If you have baking beans (some people use dried beans or rice too) to weight down the pastry as it bakes, then use that. The pastry will puff up a little as it bakes, so the weights keep the bottom of the cases flatter. If you don’t have anything, don’t worry. Just prick the bottom of the tartlets with a fork before you bake them and then the filling will disguise everything else.

Now, I say that this makes around 12 tartlets. If you watch my video, then you see I got 14 that time. So, I’ll say that it makes at least 12 Marshmallow Fudge Tartlets. But you’ll likely get 14 or 16, depending on how thick or thin you roll out your pastry. Again, I don’t always end up with mine all being exactly the same!

Marshmallow Fudge Tartlets

A crisp pastry case, filled with jam and marshmallow, topped with caramel.
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine british, Irish
Servings 12 tartlets

Ingredients
  

Pastry Cases

  • 6 oz or 175g plain flour (all-purpose flour)
  • 4 oz or 110g butter
  • 2 oz or 55g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp cold water

Filling

  • halved marshmallows (or marshmallow fluff)
  • raspberry jam

Caramel Topping

  • 4 oz or 110g butter
  • 4 oz or 110g dark brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup (or honey or maple syrup)
  • ½ tin condensed milk (about 7oz/200g)

Instructions
 

  • First, make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Then stir in the sugar.
  • Mix in the egg yolk and cold water (about 1 tsp) until it forms a soft dough. Add more water, a little at a time, if your dough is too dry. Wrap the dough in cling film/plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  • Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface until it’s about 0.5cm thick and cut out rounds to line your tartlet tins/bun tray.
  • Bake the tartlets at 325F/160C for about 15-20 mins until they are golden brown. It does help if you can use baking beans/pie weights while you’re baking the cases, as it will stop the pastry from rising slightly. But it will taste the same if you don’t. Leave cool in the tin.
  • After the cases have cooled, put 1 tsp jam into each and then place halved marshmallows (or 1 tbsp marshmallow fluff) on top.
  • Place the butter, sugar, syrup and condensed milk in a saucepan over a low heat. Stirring frequently, bring to a simmer and let bubble for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
  • Quickly spoon sufficient caramel to cover each marshmallow. Set aside to cool and firm up before enjoying.

Video

Keyword caramel, jam, marshmallow, pastry

12 Comments

  • Avril

    These used to be my standard tray bake for Sunday School prize givings and outings – I wasn’t allowed to appear without them!! They were a firm favourite!! However, I used marshmallows cut in half so you could see the marshmallow and they were quickly nicknamed ‘Fried Eggs’!!!
    I love your blog and brings back so many memories of tray bakes I used to do … you’ve inspired me to resurrect a few and try a few new ones – thanks :-)!

    • CJ

      Ha! I love the ‘Fried Eggs’ nickname for these! Glad you’re enjoying the blog – there are plenty more recipes to come!

    • CJ

      My baking and blog are a hobby, so I don’t have a cookbook. I add new recipes to this site regularly, so there is plenty more baking to come in 2017! Thank you.

  • Sandra

    Can you freeze the Marshmallow fudge targets. I need to make loads of buns for an event & if I could freeze ahead it would really help

    • CJ

      I haven’t tried freezing them myself – they don’t tend to last very long in our house! I have successfully frozen caramel squares and other caramel based traybakes, so I think it should probably be ok. Thanks!

  • Avril

    Marshmallow fudge tartlets freeze great! I used to make them in advance – you need to open freeze then on a tray and once frozen, then I put them in containers separated by greaseproof paper. Enjoy!

  • Sandra

    Thanks Avril
    That’s good news. Hopefully I have enough to freeze if the family don’t get to them 1st. Thanks again for your advice

  • Sue Elliott

    The tartlets look gorgeous but was wondering if it could be made in a large pastry case instead of small ones.

    • CJ

      I’ve never tried. The filling is quite oozy, so I don’t think it would hold together very well when you cut it, unfortunately.