Chocolate Rice Crispie "Cake" with Marshmallow "Icing"

Rice crispie treats are a favorite in our household, so I was excited to try making these. They turned out a bit messy but did firm up with more time.

Making homemade marshmallows was a new experience for me. I was nervous doing it because I feel like making meringues are not easy for me. It started out a bit tricky because I could not find sheets of gelatin in the store, so I had to get powdered instead. I wasn't quite sure how that would change anything. It ended up not being a problem at all, the powdered gelatin bloomed fine and I was able to drain all the water.

All the other steps to making the marshmallows worked fine until the very end. At the end it was to be whipped up until it turned white and fluffy. I was a bit worried about it because it was taking a really long time to whip. It finally started to get some air into it though and appeared to be fine.

I only let the marshmallows cure for the minimum amount of time, four hours, before cutting them and making the rice crispie "Cake". I had read reviews from other bakers at Baked Sunday Mornings before making this recipe since I was worried about the marshmallow. When I read the reviews several of them said that the chocolate version of rice crispie bars was not a favorite. In that case, I opted to leave out the dark chocolate that the recipe recommends hoping that the chocolate would not be too overpowering.

Everything worked just fine and I got the rice crispie cake made. The homemade marshmallows were a little bit soft and loose, so the bars did not stay together very well. The boys were very excited to try them out. They thought that overall they were good, but suggested some changes for another time. In particular, they did not like the huge layer of marshmallow on top of the rice crispie cake. They did like the marshmallows plain though and are hoping to try them in hot chocolate or s' mores before the leftover marshmallows are gone.

The recipe and thoughts from other bakers for this dessert can be found at Baked Sunday Mornings here.

Family Ratings:
Me: The homemade marshmallow was delicious, but I was not a fan of the chocolate rice crispies.
Hubby:
Big Man: Big Man thought the rice crispie cake was great, but did not enjoy the icing on top.
Bear: He requested that we just make regular rice crispie bars from now on.
Mr. T: He also felt that we should not have had the icing on top of the rice crispie cake.

Will I repeat: Probably not.

What will I change: Nothing.