If you're standing in line at New York's famed Magnolia Bakery and you see someone pull out a tub of meringue frosting, avert your eyes. For all that is holy, look away.
Because if you start watching the shop's bakers frost that cake, you won't be able to look away. You might even find yourself buying the entire three-layered confection — a combination of graham-flavored cake, chocolate ganache and meringue frosting — even if all you wanted was a single cupcake. It's no wonder the company sells about 800 cakes and cake slices during the month of August alone; the marbled, almost toasted-marshmallow effect the frosting gets as its swirled is hard to turn down.
It's become such a popular flavor that this year, the brand expanded from s'mores cupcakes and cakes to selling s'mores banana pudding as well. Sliced bananas are combined with chocolate pudding, graham crackers, marshmallows and semisweet chocolate chips, creating a dessert that threatens to unseat the shop's famed original flavor as its most popular.
"Out of all of the seasonal flavors we've done, s'mores is by far my favorite," says Daniel Garcia, a baker who's worked at Magnolia for three years.
The banana pudding flavor is only available in August, though the cakes and cupcakes can be ordered year-round. Garcia, who decorated the treats in the video, has gotten in plenty of practice making all three, so we turned to him for tips on getting this look at home.
1. Two Tools Make ALL The Difference.
If you want to frost a cake like Magnolia does, get thee a spinning cake stand, stat. It's crucial for spreading the icing evenly (quickly!), and getting that swirled, toasted marshmallow effect on the frosting. That, BTW, is the result of drizzling melted chocolate on the meringue frosting, then using Garcia's other go-to gadget — a large icing wand — to swirl them together.
2. Build A Mountain, Then Crater It.
Garcia mounds frosting in the center of the cake — Magnolia uses about 1/4-cup per layer — then, as he spins the cake stand, he starts to press it down, forming a "crater." As he spins and pushes down on the frosting, it fans out across the top of the cake, creating a smooth, even layer.
3. Work Quickly With That Meringue.
Meringue stiffens quickly, so as soon as you make it, you should be ready to plop it onto the cake. Magnolia whips six egg whites in an electric mixer until fluffy. As those mix, they put a pot of 3 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar on a burner, bringing it to a boil.
"The key is adding a little tartar powder," Garcia says. Also known as Cream of Tartar, the powder keeps the sugar from crystallizing, so the syrupy mixture doesn't get gritty.
Once that hits 235 degrees F, it's poured into the egg white mixture with a little more Cream of Tartar and vanilla and whipped to stiff peaks. Then it's ready to spread.
The end result is fluffy, just like the inside of a freshly toasted marshmallow — only not as sticky.
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