This is my slightly-adapted version of my great-aunt’s recipe for Mississippi Mud. We had it so many times at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground that we started calling it Marshmallow Marsh Cake. As you may remember, Marshmallow Marsh was a splendid evening event at the campground where guests paddled canoes to a spot on Bay Lake, roasted marshmallows, watched fireworks and sang old-time ditties. It disappeared some time in the 1980s, along with make-your-own pizza, the trams, and other favorites.
Now Aunt Martha Lou was quite a cook, as well as an accomplished hiker, bird-watcher, a brilliant woman, and maybe one of the finest people I’ve ever known. She earned a college degree long before most women did. Living near Cedartown, Georgia, actually knew the Dick Nunis (former Disney head) family, as well as just about everybody else in a 50-mile range for that matter. It was always a real treat having her on our trips – I’m certain that her active love of nature and ever-present joy contributed to her living to be 94.
so comforting it’s the dessert version of mashed potatoes
We always went to Fort Wilderness during the summer months or spring break. As kids, we free ranged so much that we had quite a few Come-to-Jesus meetings when we returned late and filthy. But the cake made everything alright again on the 200 loop. Unlike my Aunt Martha Lou, I really only make it in the fall. October officially ushers in the season of sugar, comfort food, cozy fireplaces, and smells of baking apples (no pumpkin spice for me). Fresh tomato canapes, gazpacho, and mint juleps have temporarily given way to hedonism and the sweetest delights of childhood.
70s foods are in again (well, some of them)
So I’m just sayin’- this dessert deserves a millennial comeback. It’s an insane concoction of marshmallows sandwiched between a perfect cake-like brownie and a ridiculously rich, fudge icing. There were many variations out there, but none were as perfect as my aunt’s. She used margarine (a 70s thing), and I’ve replaced that with real, live unsalted butter. And I boil the icing (it’s a must), but not as long as she did (butter separates). Oh, and be sure to buy a gallon of good organic milk. This, and chocolate chip cookies, are what milk were made for.
Marshmallow Marsh Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
- 10.5 oz miniature marshmallows
Icing
- 1 stick butter
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 can evaporated milk (large)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lb confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 cup milk use to thin only if needed
Instructions
- Lightly grease 9x13 baking pan, and preheat oven to 325 degrees,
- Mix sugar, butter and oil in a bowl, and add eggs one a a time.
- Slowly incorporate sifted flour and cocoa, and mix until blended.
- Add vanilla and salt and mix.
- Stir in pecans, and pour into pan.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cover evenly with marshmallows.
- Return to oven for 2-3 minutes, and remove. Immediately pour icing on top, and let set for at least 30 minutes.
For Icing
- Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
- Add cocoa powder, evaporated milk and vanilla, stirring constantly.
- Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for about 30 seconds. Butter will begin to separate, but this is okay.
- Remove from heat and stir in confectioner's sugar. If mixture is too thick, you may add milk, just a few tablespoons at a time. It should be thin enough to pour (not spread), but thick enough that it pours out in thin sheets.
Related: Practically Perfect Chocolate Eclair Cake
