Be My Guest - Chocolate Raspberry Marshmallow Bars

Saturdays that are meant for guest posts just keep coming in such a fast pace!!!! By the time I fix up one guest post and start working on the next, my hands and legs shiver at the thought whether I would be able to put up a proper introduction to each guest post I receive. It feels so nice that my "Be My Guest" section has attracted some really nice bloggers, as well as the bloggers who I absolutely adore have so wholeheartedly come and become a part of this series... :)

One morning,  I received an email from Singapore. She had seen my guest post at Rekha's space and then came up-to my blog. She noticed that I had quite a bit of guest posts and just decided to drop in an email. That is how I got introduced to Megha, who blogs at Me In Blog Land. Hers is not an exclusive cookery blog, but what I loved is that she mended all her passions beautifully at one single space. She has a lovely style of writing, which is very simple and just flows. I guess if you read the post below of hers and hop on to her blog as well, you would agree to me. I am so happy that she came by and asked me if she could guest post, and see what she got for me!

Megha mailed me with a choice, which I left to her, but then wanting to do justice to my blog name, she chose these delectable looking gooey bars... A bit of work in there but just look at the end result. I wish screens were not only meant for staring at pictures, but if you could actually put your hand in and just grab a peice! Let's move on what my guest for the day has to say...


A big hello to the readers of The Big Sweet Tooth!

My name is Megha and I blog from sunny Singapore. I am originally from the charming city of Mysore in South India. I am a dentist by profession but am currently pursuing a career in the field of biomedical research (that’s a long story!). Writing has always been a hobby of mine so blogging is something that came quite naturally to me. I blog about the four biggest passions in my life - food, travel, movies and books. 

I’ve always wanted to do a guest post on another blog but I wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. To me, it isn't much different to being a guest in someone’s home. A blogger invites you into their virtual home out of affection and trust which is a pretty wonderful gesture. I don't know many food bloggers on a personal level and being a lazy blog reader, I have only begun interacting with fellow bloggers within the blogosphere off late. I saw Rafeeda’s guest post recently on a blog that I follow and after taking a peek at her lovely space, I saw how welcoming she was towards other bloggers to do guest posts on her blog. She is a mother of two lovely little girls and despite that, she manages to keep her blog running at breakneck speed with posts of her own, guest posts, hosting events and what not. Kudos to her for that! I thought it couldn't hurt to drop her an e-mail and in uncharacteristic fashion, I did! She replied almost immediately and was very nice about the whole thing. Picking what to make for someone else’s blog took longer than I thought it would. I had with me one sweet and one savoury dish so I ultimately sent her this dessert (no prizes for guessing why!) that you see here.


During a recent visit, my sister gifted me with a recipe book from Marks & Spencer titled My Little Afternoon Tea Book. I flipped through the pages and caught sight of the recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Marshmallow Bars. I was drawn to the lovely photos and made a mental note to try it. I still consider myself a novice baker so I was wondering if it would turn out just like in the book but once I did, my fears were somewhat allayed. Initially, I was a bit hesitant about sending this recipe to Rafeeda because marshmallows usually contain gelatin but I discovered that nowadays you easily get either halal certified brands and brands that are suitable for vegetarians. This is an interesting and versatile dessert with different layers of flavours and textures. You can make in advance for parties, potlucks or lunch boxes. It has chocolate, jam and marshmallows….what’s not to love! 

Before I continue, I'd like to thank Rafeeda for welcoming me into her personal space! I enjoyed doing this guest post for her :)

So without further ado, here is the recipe. I hope you try it (and like it!). 

Chocolate Raspberry Marshmallow Bars

Total time required: 75 min (Preparation time: 15 min; Refrigeration time: 20 min; Baking time: 20 min; Assembling time: 20 min)
Recipe level: Moderately easy
Makes: 15-18 bars
Recipe Source: My Little Afternoon Tea Book

Ingredients:

250g (2 level cups) all-purpose flour
40g (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp) icing/confectioners’ sugar
150g unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
160g (1/2 cup) raspberry jam, slightly warmed
250gm (2-3/4 cups) white marshmallows*
1 tsp vanilla extract
80ml (1/3 cup) cream
130g (3/4 cup) unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped (Optional)
200g chocolate (milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate), roughly chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil

Method:

1. Keep all the ingredients you need ready. Sift the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt together. Lightly grease a 6-1/4x10-1/2 inch (16x26 cm) baking tin and line with parchment paper, extending the paper over the sides and grease again. I didn't have that specified size so I used a 8x8 inch square tin. 

2. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C (400 deg F/Gas 6)


3. Add in the egg, butter and vanilla extract to the sifted flour mixture and mix with your fingertips until the ingredients come together in a soft dough. Spread the dough in the lined baking tin uniformly. Chill the tin in the fridge for 20 min.

4. Bake the dough in the tin for 20 min. Keep aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, warm the raspberry jam until the consistency gets a little runny. Spread the warm jam evenly over the base. 

5. Place the marshmallows and cream in a saucepan and stir for about 5 min on low heat until the marshmallows have melted. Pour this marshmallow layer over the raspberry jam.


6. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the marshmallow layer

7. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, add the oil and microwave for 2-3 mins (stirring in between) until the chocolate is velvety smooth. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a simmering water bath. 

8. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanuts. You may feel that the chocolate is less but it will be just about enough to cover the entire surface. Gently spread it around until all the corners are covered.


9. Refrigerate until set. Cut with a long sharp knife into squares or fingers. As you can see, the chocolate layer in a few of mine cracked a little. If you can get clean cuts while keeping all the layers intact, then you are a goddess :) 

10. Enjoy as it is or with a glass of cold milk

Notes: 

* I used the Ego brand of barbecue marshmallows which I take to believe doesn’t contain gelatine (since it is not listed in the ingredients) and it uses seaweed extract and corn starch instead
I like dark chocolate and my desserts not too sweet so I used 70% dark chocolate in this recipe. Depending on what you like, you can modify the type of chocolate used in this recipe (I would recommend not using white chocolate though)
If you don't want to use raspberry jam, you can also use other jam flavours like strawberry, orange, blueberry or apricot
If you are not a fan of peanuts, you could skip them entirely or else use slivered almonds or chopped walnuts or chopped pecans. The nuts add a nice crunch to the bars

Cheers,
Megha


Wow... looks so delicious, doesn't it??? Thank you so much Megha for being a part of this little journey of mine... really appreciate your sincere gesture of coming over... :)

Wishing all of you a very happy weekend ahead... :)

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