Toasted Marshmallow Espresso Martini

The flavor in this drink comes from five marshmallows burnt on purpose. You torch them in the pan, add sugar and water, and stir until the syrup runs deep brown. That browning is the recipe working.

Skip the torching and you get marshmallow simple syrup, which tastes like sugar. The scorch is where the smoke comes from.

Why the Syrup Has to Be Toasted First

Marshmallows are sugar, gelatin and air. Heat the outside hard enough and the sugar caramelizes into something bitter and smoky, and that is the note the drink is built around.

• Torch them dry, in the pan. Before any liquid goes in. Once there is water in the saucepan the surface will not color.
• Go further than looks comfortable. Campfire-brown is not enough here. You want black patches. They dissolve and the bitterness balances an otherwise sweet glass.
• Watch the color of the finished syrup. Deep brown is the marker. Pale amber means the marshmallows were under-toasted and the drink will taste flat and sweet.
• No torch, no problem. Hold them over a gas flame on a fork, then drop them in the pan. An electric stove will not do it, so use the broiler on a foil-lined tray instead.

Marshmallow Vodka, or Something Else

The recipe calls for an ounce and a half of marshmallow vodka, with whipped cream vodka as the stated alternative.

• Marshmallow vodka: the intended pour. It reinforces what the syrup is already doing.
• Whipped cream vodka: named in the source as the swap. Slightly more vanilla, slightly less toasted.
• Plain vodka: works, and the drink is still good. You lose a layer, since the syrup is then the only marshmallow in the glass.
• Coffee liqueur: one ounce, and this is the part not worth substituting. It carries sweetness and body along with the coffee.

Ingredients

• 5 jumbo marshmallows, for the syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 ounces espresso
• 1 1/2 ounces marshmallow vodka (or whipped cream vodka)
• 1 ounce coffee liqueur
• 1/2 ounce toasted marshmallow syrup
• ice, for the shaker
• jumbo marshmallows, for garnish

Instructions

1. Add the marshmallows to a small saucepan and toast each one fully with a kitchen torch. Without a torch, toast them over a stovetop flame and then put them in the saucepan.
2. Add the sugar and water and place the pan over medium heat.
3. Keep stirring until the marshmallows have melted and the sugar has fully dissolved, about 3 to 5 minutes. The syrup should run deep brown.
4. Strain the syrup into a glass container and chill it before making the cocktail.
5. Add the espresso, vodka, coffee liqueur and 1/2 ounce of the chilled syrup to a shaker with ice and shake for a good 30 seconds.
6. Strain into a coupe glass.
7. Cut a wooden skewer down to size, slide on two jumbo marshmallows, toast them with the torch or a stovetop flame, and rest the skewer over the glass.

How to Make the Toasted Marshmallow Syrup

The ratio is half a cup of sugar to half a cup of water, which is the standard one-to-one simple syrup used everywhere. The marshmallows are the addition, and they bring their own sugar with them, so the finished syrup is sweeter and thicker than plain.

Three to five minutes of stirring over medium heat is the whole cook. Stop when the sugar has dissolved and the color has gone deep. Longer and the sugar starts to seize around the gelatin.

Strain it. Melted marshmallow leaves stringy bits of gelatin that never break down, and they will sit in the bottom of the jar and then in the bottom of your glass.

Chill it before you build the drink. Warm syrup in a shaker fights the ice, and you will end up with a martini that is diluted and still not cold.

You use half an ounce per drink, and the batch makes far more than that. It keeps in the fridge and it is good in coffee.

Where It Differs From a Classic Espresso Martini

The standard build on Allrecipes is two ounces of coffee liqueur, one ounce of vanilla vodka and one ounce of cream or milk, shaken with a cup of crushed ice. There is no espresso in it at all, which is a common way the drink gets made.

This version reverses that. Espresso and vodka lead at an ounce and a half each, the coffee liqueur drops to one ounce, and the syrup replaces the cream. Nothing dairy goes in, so the foam on top is coffee crema rather than shaken milk.

If you want the softer version, the cream build is the one to make. If you want the coffee to actually taste like coffee, pull a real shot.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

• The syrup came out pale: the marshmallows were not toasted hard enough, or they were toasted after the water went in. Torch them dry and take them past golden.
• No foam on top: either the espresso was old or the shake was short. Thirty seconds is not a suggestion, and crema collapses within a couple of minutes of the shot being pulled.
• It is too sweet: the coffee liqueur and the syrup are both sugar. Cut the syrup to a quarter ounce before touching anything else.
• There are threads in the glass: the syrup went in unstrained. Pour it through a fine sieve while it is still warm and loose.
• It came out lukewarm: warm syrup. Chill it properly, then shake with plenty of ice.
• The garnish marshmallows slid off: they were threaded onto a skewer that was too smooth or too thin. Push them on before toasting, since a toasted marshmallow tears when you move it.

Making These for a Group

The syrup is the only part that takes time, and it is made ahead by design.

• Make the syrup up to two weeks ahead and keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge.
• Pull the espresso in one go and let it cool, then refrigerate it. Cold espresso still shakes up with a good head.
• Pre-measure the vodka and coffee liqueur into a jug for the number of drinks you are pouring, so each round is one pour into the shaker rather than three.
• Chill the coupes in the freezer for twenty minutes beforehand. This drink warms fast because there is no ice in the glass.
• Thread and toast the garnish marshmallows just before serving. Toasted an hour early, they go hard and dull.
• Shake in batches of two at most. More than that and the ice cannot chill the volume in thirty seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use instant coffee instead of espresso?

You can, and it will taste like instant coffee. If that is what is available, make it double strength and let it cool completely first. Do not use hot coffee, since it melts the ice before the shake does anything.

Do I need a kitchen torch?

No. A gas burner works, and so does the broiler with the marshmallows on a foil-lined tray, watched closely. You do need a real flame or direct heat of some kind, since the whole flavor depends on the surface burning.

What does the syrup taste like on its own?

Sweet, smoky and slightly bitter, closer to burnt caramel than to a marshmallow out of the bag. That bitterness is what keeps the finished drink from being cloying.

How long does the syrup keep?

A couple of weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge. It thickens as it chills. If it sets too firm to pour, let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes.

Can I make it without alcohol?

Not by subtraction. Vodka and coffee liqueur are two and a half of the four and a half ounces in the glass. A version without alcohol has to be rebuilt with espresso, the syrup and something with body standing in for the liqueur.

Why a coupe and not a martini glass?

A coupe holds the foam better and is much harder to spill. A martini glass works if you have a steady hand and a short walk.

Can I double the recipe in one shaker?

Two drinks, yes. Beyond that the shaker is too full for the ice to move, and the drink comes out warm and thin.