These chocolate marshmallows are totally scrumptious, sweet and perfectly bouncy. They’re relatively easy to make too and have the most wonderful chocolate flavour. Homemade marshmallows truly are so much better than store-bought marshmallows too.
Adapted from my base marshmallow recipe, the one I used to create my caramel marshmallows, the only real difference here is adding cocoa for the chocolate flavour. These are marshmallow perfection. They have the perfect texture and flavour, and they even toast perfectly so you can toast them over an open fire or create double chocolate s’mores.
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Ingredients & substitutions
Can you believe chocolate marshmallows can be made with just 6 shelf-stable ingredients and water. That’s it. You can have everything on hand to make these any time you feel the craving hit.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Dutch process cocoa powder will give you the best flavour. It has a more rounded and less acidic flavour than regular unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Vanilla extract adds warmth, balance and actually intensifies the chocolate flavour.
- Powdered gelatine is what gives you that amazing squishy marshmallow texture. Gelatin powder is available in most grocery stores. Agar agar is not a straight swap here and won’t give you the classic texture of marshmallow.
- Sugar: I use caster sugar but white granulated sugar is fine, just make sure to take the time to dissolve it into the syrup before letting it boil. Icing sugar (powdered sugar) is used in the coating to stop them from sticking to your hands.
- Liquid glucose is an invert sugar which is essentially used to prevent your syrup from crystallising. You can swap it for light corn syrup or you could even use golden syrup here. You could use honey but it will add an obvious flavour.
How to make chocolate marshmallows
I love making marshmallows so I had my own recipe to start from but turning them super chocolatey hit a road-block at first. I started by adding the cocoa into the syrup and creating a chocolate syrup but I ended up with marshmallows that tasted great but were a bit too dense. Not to be defeated, I found a little trick over at The Flavor Bender to bloom the cocoa first (essentially soften it) and it was the final puzzle piece.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Bloom the gelatine
Blooming the gelatine really just means to soften it. To do this, just mix it into some water in the bowl of a stand mixer. I definitely recommend a stand mixer here as a hand mixer just won’t have the staying power to beat the marshmallow for the 10 or more minutes it needs.
2. Bloom the cocoa
Similar to blooming the gelatine, but this time we use boiling water added to the cocoa, along with the vanilla extract. Give it a good mix until perfectly smooth then set it aside.
3. Make the syrup
The chocolate marshmallow syrup is a combination of water, sugar and glucose (or corn syrup). Just heat it over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and let it boil until it hits 127C/260F. Don’t let it heat any more than that.
4. Combine the syrup and gelatine
Now, start the mixer on low and slowly drizzle the syrup down into the gelatine mixture. Try to hit the side of the bowl right above the top of the gelatine. If you add it to the side of the bowl nearer the top it might start setting there (especially if you overheated it at all) but if you pour it directly into the gelatine, the gelatine may overheat and not work any longer. So, it’s a balancing act but not a difficult one.
5. Add the chocolate paste
Once all the syrup is in, turn the mixer off briefly and add in your cocoa paste. Mix it in and you’ll notice the marshmallow mixture starts out very fluid.
Now, turn the mixer on medium for 3-5 minutes until it starts to thicken a little.
Turn the beater up to high and beat for another 6-7 minutes. In this time it is totally transformed. The mixture increases to about 4 times the volume and lightens in colour. It also becomes super sticky.
6. Setting the marshmallow
The chocolate marshmallow is ready to use when you start seeing strings pulling away from the side of the bowl.
Scrape the marshmallow into a greased 9 inch square pan. It should start to level itself out but to get it nice and flat, lightly wet your hands and press down and level out with your hands. You can dampen your hands 2-3 times to do this but be careful not to add too much water which could melt your marshmallows.
Combine some cocoa and icing sugar (powdered sugar) then sift that over the top. Now cover the pan and let it set for a minimum of 8 hours but overnight is better.
7. Cut the chocolate marshmallows
Once set, carefully lift the corner of the marshmallow, then flip the pan over and let it fall out onto a sheet of baking paper or a large baking sheet (this just helps with clean up).
Dust more of the cocoa sugar over the marshmallow, then use a sharp knife to cut it into 36 squares – 6 rows, then turn it and cut 6 rows again. Dust the squares well with the cocoa sugar then they’re ready to eat.
Tips and tricks
- Weigh the sugar for best results.
- I don’t use gelatine leaves so I can’t tell you the strength or how many to use.
- Agar agar is a vegetarian alternative to gelatine however it does not give the same texture to marshmallows as gelatine does so I don’t recommend trying to turn these marshmallows vegetarian.
- Allow for curing / setting time: The chocolate homemade marshmallows will set quite quickly but they need to cure for at least 8 hours or overnight to get that perfect chewy yet bouncy and light marshmallow texture.
- Get clean cuts by using a sharp knife and wiping it off between cuts. Or grease the blade of the knife with some butter. I prefer the first option though I often don’t even bother to wipe it between slices.
More flavour options
- Chocolate coated: Try dipping your homemade marshmallows in melted chocolate.
- Peppermint: Great for Christmas, add a little peppermint extract to your marshmallow mixture – 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons should be perfect.
- Chocolate orange: Add up to 1 ½ teaspoons of orange extract to get chocolate orange marshmallows.
- Mocha: Add some instant espresso powder to the cocoa mixture. The amount you add will depend on how strong a flavour you want. Stir it into the cocoa paste and taste – it should be slightly stronger there than you’d like it in the finished chocolate marshmallow.
- Chocolate coconut: Instead of coating the marshmallow in a cocoa sugar mixture, coat it in toasted desiccated coconut.
Serving suggestions
Homemade chocolate marshmallows are outrageously delicious just as they are but you can use them like you would use any other marshmallows too.
- Toast them over a flame and eat them all gooey and delicious.
- Turn them into double chocolate s’mores like the photo below.
- Add them to hot chocolate.
- Use them in rocky road for a double chocolate rocky road.
- Use them in rice krispies treats.
Storage
Marshmallows made like these chocolate marshmallows have no eggs in them so they will keep for ages. Store them in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 2 months. They should be kept at room temperature not in the fridge or freezer.
This long shelf life makes them great for gifting so you can make up a batch weeks ahead of a celebration (like Christmas, Mothers Day or Valentines Day) and store them in jars ready for gifting.
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cool water , divided ½ cup:1cup (375ml)
- ¼ cup boiling water , measure after it’s boiled
- 35 g Dutch processed cocoa powder (⅓ cup / 1 ¼oz)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 7 teaspoons powdered gelatine
- 465 g caster sugar (or white granulated sugar) (2 ⅓ cups / 16 ½oz)
- ¼ cup glucose syrup (or light corn syrup or golden syrup) (60ml)
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 2 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Stand mixer with whisk attachment
- 9 inch square baking pan or baking dish
Instructions
- Grease a 9 inch square baking pan with butter or coconut oil and set aside.
- Pour the ½ cup of measured water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, then pour in the gelatine powder. Give it a good mix to combine. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the ¼ cup of boiling water, the cocoa powder and vanilla. Mix well to a paste and set aside.
- Place the remaining 1 cup water, sugar and glucose into a medium, deep heavy-based non-reactive saucepan over medium heat. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
- Stir the mixture gently until the sugar dissolves (try not to splash it up the sides of the pan). Once dissolved, stop stirring and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let it come to a rolling boil and continue boiling until it reaches 127C / 260F on the thermometer (after 10-15 minutes depending on the exact heat you’re using).
- Take it off the heat. Let the bubbles start to subside for about 10-15 seconds then proceed immediately to the next step.
- Turn the mixer with the bloomed gelatin mixture on low. Slowly drizzle the sugar syrup into the mixer bowl, aiming to hit the side of the bowl but close to the gelatine mixture. The heat of the syrup will dissolve the gelatine.
- Once all the syrup is added, add the cocoa paste. It will be very liquid at this point so just whip on medium for 5 minutes, then turn the mixer up to high for a further 7-10 minutes.It should triple, or even quadruple in volume and turn light brown in colour. You’ll know it’s ready when you start to see strings of sticky marshmallow pulling away from the side of the bowl as it mixes. See the images in the post for the texture.
- Scrape the marshmallow into your prepared pan with a spatula. Use damp hands to gently flatten down the top and smooth it out. You can dampen your hands 2-3 times as needed but don’t have them very wet. If you add too much moisture, the marshmallow can start to melt.
- In a small bowl combine the icing sugar and cocoa, then sprinkle a little over the top of the chocolate marshmallow reserving the rest in a sealed container for later.
- Cover the marshmallow pan (with another pan or a chopping board or book), then allow it to set in a cool place like the pantry (not the fridge) for at least 8 hours or overnight is better.
- When ready, turn the chocolate marshmallow out onto a sheet of baking paper – you can gently lift the corner of the marshmallow to release it and it should easily fall out of the pan. Sift over some of the cocoa sugar mixture, then use a sharp knife to slice it into squares. Sift over more of the cocoa sugar mixture as required, tossing the marshmallows in it to get them coated all over.
- Give your chocolate marshmallows a shake off before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the pantry – not in the fridge. They can keep for months stored properly.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Get clean cuts by using a sharp knife and wiping it off between cuts. Or grease the blade of the knife with some butter. I prefer the first option though I often don’t even bother to wipe it between slices.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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4 Comments on “Chocolate Marshmallows”
Delicious! And not super difficult
So happy you love it, RachL. Thanks so much for dropping back to leave a review.
This recipe was AMAZING! The marshmallow was soft pillowy and deliciously chocolatey. I did not boil the sugar mixture for as long as the recipe said (I only did it for about 6 minutes) and it turned out amazing. I made a rocky road flavour which is this with some lollies and chocolate on top which was delicious. Would 100% recommend this recipe. (It was also reasonably easy to make).
I’m so, so happy to hear this, Kobe. Truly appreciate you dropping back to leave a review.