Bello Dolce Marshmallow Flowers (Aldi) By @Cinabar

We did our weekly shop at Aldi and, as usual, I found myself wandering down the aisle looking for marshmallows to top my hot chocolate. The plan was simple. Grab the standard pink and white mini cubes and move on. But then my eyes drifted. Sitting there quietly were the Bello Dolce Marshmallow Flowers, and immediately I knew I was due a marshmallow upgrade.

These are not your average marshmallows. They come in white, lilac and pink, each one with a little yellow centre, shaped like proper flowers. They are much larger than the usual cubes and, frankly, very pretty. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

Texture-wise, they are spot on. Lovely and soft with a slight chew, and there is a gentle sugary crispness around the edge that adds a bit of contrast. They are sweet without being sickly, which is exactly what you want from a marshmallow. I’ll admit it. I had a couple straight from the bag, purely for research purposes. Later, they will be added to a hot chocolate where they are going to look absolutely divine floating on top.

If you are in Aldi and you spot them, you might as well throw a bag in the trolley. Your hot chocolate deserves it, they look absolutely adorable. 

Mallow and Marsh Coconut (Tesco) By @Cinabar

I found this lovely marshmallow bar tucked away in our stash of Christmas goodies, although I am fairly sure it was originally picked up at Tesco.

It is a substantial looking bar, made up of coconut flavoured marshmallow coated in milk chocolate. Straight away, it got me thinking about Bounty, which seems to be a proper Marmite option in Celebrations. Some people love it, others absolutely cannot stand it. Curious, I once tried to get to the bottom of why, and from a very small and unscientific study of work colleagues, it appeared the issue was more about texture than taste.

This bar is interesting because while it delivers coconut flavour, it avoids the shredded coconut texture altogether. Instead, you get a fluffy marshmallow centre. For anyone who dislikes Bounty purely because of the chew, this could be a game changer. Once opened, the bar is a decent size with a thin coating of milk chocolate. The whole bar comes in at 139 calories, which is fairly low for a chocolatey snack like this.

Taste wise, it really delivers. The flavour is sweet and creamy, with the coconut shining through nicely. The chocolate is mild, as you would expect from a thin coating, but it is pleasant and cracks nicely when you bite into it. The marshmallow itself has a great texture, soft and squishy while still feeling substantial rather than insubstantial or foamy.

This is a genuinely lovely bar. Great flavour, good texture, and very moreish. It might just be the bar that convinces Bounty sceptics that coconut deserves another chance.

Swizzels Marvellous Mallows Drumstick (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

I buy marshmallows for hot chocolate sometimes, but they’re almost always unflavoured. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen many flavoured marshmallows over the years. I’m not sure why, as it’s a lovely idea. Here we have a crossover product: Swizzels Marshmallows inspired by Drumstick sweets. For those who’ve never indulged, Drumsticks are raspberry and milk-flavoured chewy lollipops.

The bag is bright and eye-catching, and I could see the marshmallows inside were a decent size, perfect for nibbling or topping a hot chocolate. As soon as I opened the pack, I was hit with the fab smell of raspberry. Not just any raspberry either, it was unmistakably Drumstick-scented.

The marshmallows are a little more square than a Drumstick lolly, but they do share the same pink and white two-tone colour scheme. I gave one a try and was impressed straight away by the texture. Light, fluffy, and just gently chewy, exactly how a good marshmallow should be.

The flavour was a little milder than the strong aroma had suggested, but it was still distinctly Drumstick. The raspberry and cream came through nicely, and they were seriously moreish. They melt in the mouth and are quick to eat, so I found myself reaching for another… and then another.

I’ve had to put the bag in the cupboard to make sure there are some left for hot chocolate later!

Bebeto Freeze-Dried Crunchy Marshmallows (Spa) By @Cinabar

These aren’t your regular marshmallows—they’re crunchy marshmallows. That concept alone sounds a little odd, but with the growing trend of freeze-dried sweets, I couldn’t resist picking up a bag of these Bebeto Freeze-Dried Crunchy Marshmallows from a local shop.

 

Upon opening the bag, I discovered that while they were light and solid, they felt almost hollow—as if tapping them might produce an echo! They were larger than I expected, which made biting into them feel strange at first. However, they soon gave way and crumbled, an unusual experience for a marshmallow.

The flavour was exactly what you’d expect: that sweet, vanilla-like taste typical of marshmallows. The texture, though, was a mix of crunchy and soft, which I found enjoyable as a novelty. Still, let’s be honest—the best thing about marshmallows is their soft, squidgy texture.

I’ll happily finish this bag of Bebeto Freeze-Dried Crunchy Marshmallows (freeze-dried space food, anyone?), but my next marshmallow purchase will probably be the classic variety.

M&S Plant Kitchen Marshmallows - Vegan & good! [@NLi10]

 Propper marshmallows are a thing of joy.  Very few companies actually make the real soft pink & white ones now - and none use the right colours and flavours for the pink ones.  This said, there are opportunities for this to be improved upon, without going into the American territory of hard crystalised sugar and staying in the gooey fluffy realm.

M&S got these in ready for Christmas as part of the Halloween snack haul, and they are pretty good!

They don't really look perfect - the outsides aren't as smooth as the gelatine ones, but the insides are soft and the flavours are good.  And they are so light and morish that I don't feel bad keep popping them in.

I've not tried these on an open fire yet, or had them floating in a lovely dark hot chocolate - but as the weather worsens I'm sure both of those will happen soon!

S’morsels Candy (Petrol Station) By @SpectreUK

Spectre bought this box of S’morsels Candy for me when he went to buy petrol, as he thought they looked different. The petrol station actually has quite an interesting selection of treats and often has imported products I haven’t seen before. These originated in America and looked like they would be a nice treat in the evening after work. The name is a play on Smores, the American idea of melting a marshmallow from a campfire squished between two biscuits. Yum! So this is all of that represented in chocolate.

Inside the S’morsels Candy box are small pieces of chocolate-coated candy, with a firm fondant like feeling. Somehow there is biscuit texture in there too, which is rather clever as I could feel it in every bite but couldn’t see it. I love varied textures, and these are lightly crispy and enjoyable. The flavour is nice too, there is milk chocolate, sweet marshmallow, and a nice hint of biscuit. What a lovely, moreish combination. They are sweet, chocolatey, different, and very easy to eat.

The box of S’morsels Candy didn’t last long. I need to get Spectre to pick up another box when he is next topping up the petrol. 

Vimto Marshmallows (Petrol Station) By @Cinabar

I always have my eye open for marshmallows, but I don’t normally expect to spot them at the local petrol station. I do search the import shops for interesting ones from abroad, where I usually buy American marshmallows as they have interesting shapes and flavours. I wouldn’t have gone to the garage there looking for even plain marshmallows, so these were a pleasant surprise. I did, however, have my eyes open, and I did get a little excited to see these Vimto Marshmallows. The lady behind the till also reassured me that she had tried them and that they were really good. I opened up the bag and found that the marshmallows were purple and two-toned. They are quite pretty.

I gave one a try and realised that these marshmallows are fizzy and, as such, super zingy. The fluffy texture was good, soft, but it still had a bit of give. The coating around them was where the fizziness came from. I loved all the berry tones from the Vimto drink that were mixed in, and I loved the sour tingle from the flavour. I think these might be a little too flavourful to go with hot chocolate, but perhaps the contrast will be nice. I’ll try that out later!

Peeps Marshmallow Stockings (Candy Mail) By @Cinabar

I love hot chocolate, and I love marshmallows, specifically for dipping in or topping hot chocolate. Marshmallows in the UK aren’t exciting. It is easy enough to get pink and white ones, and maybe some twists, but anything more than that, and you have to look to the import shops. One of America’s biggest companies for marshmallows is Peeps; they make chicks and all sorts of shapes, so for Christmas hot chocolate, I bought these Peeps Marshmallow Stockings.

There isn’t a flavour to the marshmallows; they are vanilla, but they are fabulously shaped like red stockings.

I opened up the box, and I have to admit the decoration on these was a little minimalist. The white fur of the red stocking was actually just a very faint line, rather than anything more impressive. The picture on the packet showed quite a bit of white fur in the illustration.

I dunked them in hot chocolate, and the flavour was lovely; these Peeps Marshmallow Stockings are a sugary delight. They're soft, but a little crispy around the edges, and wonderfully fluffy on the inside. These did make a good seasonal hot chocolate extra and are still my go-to for marshmallows. I would have liked a little more design detail, but by the time it's been dunked in hot chocolate, all that matters is that they're yummy and tasty, which they are. 

Candy Cane Peeps Marshmallow Chicks (Candy Mail) By @Cinabar

I think I may have mentioned it a few times on here, but I love that there are so many hot chocolates around right now. I can’t help stocking the cupboards because I drink this all year, and outside of the Christmas season, interesting flavours are hard to find. The other awesome thing about hot chocolate is marshmallow, and I couldn’t resist trying the Candy Cane Peeps Marshmallow Chicks.

 

Peeps are traditionally shaped like chicks, but they come in a variety of designs and flavours. These are traditional chicks, but they are speckled and mint-flavored, which makes them ideal. I layered a bed of cream on my hot chocolate and let one of the Candy Cane Peeps Marshmallow Chicks float on top. Because I love theming, the hot chocolate was also peppermint. I gave my marshmallow a try, and it was lovely. The mint was sweet and fairly strong; there was plenty of peppermint, but not enough to be overpowering. It was just the right amount, and it worked perfectly with the hot chocolate. These look super cute and very Instagrammable on top of a hot chocolate, but they are also tasty and well flavoured which is what matters when you are drinking it. I think these might be my favourite variety yet.

Peeps Marshmallow Monsters (Candy Mail) By @Cinabar

Although today has been unprecedentedly warm, the evening has been wet. I don’t mean a little drizzle, I mean bucket after bucket of rain tipping its way down from the sky. This means two things: one that the tub of sweets I bought for trick or treaters barely has a dent in it, and two I’m making a Halloween hot chocolate and staying warm inside. I’m starting off by making Pumpkin Spice hot chocolate from Hotel Chocolat, because what is more perfect than that for Halloween.

Today requires some sort of decoration for my hot chocolate and what better than Peeps. Peeps are an American company who make marshmallows, usually chick-shaped, but for Halloween and Christmas you do get quite a bit of variation. These monsters look like Frankenstein, and are quite a bright colour, which weirdly puts me off a little. Only a little, once I drowned the monster in the hot chocolate I was more than happy to eat him!

There was a lightly crispy sugar coating on the Peeps and under the green was a vanilla white marshmallow that was supper soft and nicely sweet. They are fun and they go with hot chocolate so very well. I do love Peeps and am excited to have also purchased some Christmas marshmallows, but it might be a bit soon for them right now! Happy Halloween!

New Swizzels Marvellous Mallows Drumstick (A Taste of the States) By @SpectreUK

I haven't had marshmallows for ages. I haven't cooked them over an open fire for even longer. I don't particularly like to eat them that way anyway, but there's something romantic about doing it I suppose. I chose to eat these New Swizzels Marvellous Mallows Drumstick, Raspberry and Milk flavour marshmallows as is whilst watching a Star Wars movie.

On opening the packet you can see from the photograph the contents of these Swizzels Marvellous Mallows Drumstick marshmallows had a two-tone colour scheme. There was a raspberry and milk aroma from the marshmallows. They smelt of the original Drumsticks that I used to enjoy as a child, and I haven't seen them for years. They had a kind of sugary coating on the outside which was pretty tasty, and they were soft and fluffy in texture.

These Swizzels Marvellous Mallows Drumstick marshmallows did taste of raspberry and milk Drumsticks, and they were really really good. Milky and creamy in flavour to start with and then the sweet raspberry flavour built up during eating. They took me right back to those old days were I used to have one or a few Drumsticks on the way back from school. These marshmallows made me smile and made me feel young again at least for a little while, which is what sweets should be all about, don't you think?

Information on the packet; 110g bag with 336kcal per 100g, at 0g of fat, 67g of sugar, and 0.03g of salt. Ingredients included; Glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, dextrose, gelatine, flavouring, colour beetroot red.

Popcorn Shed - Toasted Marshmallow (Gifted) By @Cinabar

The rather lovely folk from Popcorn Shed sent us some of their new flavours to try, and this Popcorn Shed Toasted Marshmallow caught my eye straight away. I love marshmallows and I love popcorn, so I eagerly opened up the box. The pieces of popcorn are big and fluffy and seem to have quite a bit of topping on them. On closer inspection, I could see that some had traces of pink from the mallows. They were also a little more stuck together than the usual Popcorn Shed varieties.

I gave one a try and it was a wonderful sweet flavour, with a touch of creaminess. The taste is marshmallow, but marshmallow isn’t the strongest of flavours, just that delicate vanilla sweetness. The best part though, was the texture. These were a joy to eat. Some pieces were quite gooey and chewy, as they were dripping in marshmallow. I loved that. Some pieces were crispy and crunchy, these were a simple flavour but a fantastic texture. The box didn’t last long.

Swiss Miss Luck Charms Hot Chocolate (Candy Mail) By @Cinabar

Swiss Miss is a brand of American instant hot chocolates, usually in sachets. I guess they are the USA’s version of our Options hot chocolate, they have various flavours and seasonal editions. I spotted this one via an import site and realised I hadn’t tried a mug of Swiss Miss for ages, and I could I resist the new one with the breakfast cereal Lucky Charm’s marshmallows.

Each sachet is is two parts, one with a portion of instant hot chocolate the other with the marshmallows. The mallows here are dried, they are like the ones you put in cereal, they need liquid to become squidgy again. I boiled the kettle and made the hot chocolate, it mixed up really well, no lumps even after a quick stir. 

I poured in most of the dried mallows and gave them a stir too. They were super fun shapes, rainbows, unicorns all the cool stuff. I left to go on top of some cream, because I was doing this properly. The hot chocolate looked fab, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. The drink itself had really good flavour for an instant. It is a little thin because it is made with water, but there was plenty of chocolate taste and it was a soothing sweet drink too. The Lucky Charms mallows were really pretty and a lot of fun, they added sweetness and made me smile. I came away making a note to get another box of these on my next order, so a total thumbs up from me.

Peeps Giant Bunnies Marshmallows (Candy Mail) By @Cinabar

Peeps are a popular marshmallow product from America. I believe they are made all year round but are associated with the Easter season, as their most popular shape is chicks. I’ve tried some marshmallow chicks before and usually float them on a hot chocolate and they look stunning on a bed of whipped cream.

In this box we have the seasonal Peeps Giant Bunnies Marshmallows, and unlike the chicks where you get around 8 in a pack, here we have just two. I unwrapped them and they looked really cute. Well, the one on the left looks a little grumpy, but I guess he was about to be eaten and have his head bitten off.

I made a mug of hot chocolate and then realised the problem. These bunnies really are giant. They were too big for a mug of hot chocolate. I know first world problems. The bunnies have a vanilla flavour, with a little crispness when you bite in from a sugary coating. There is a lot of mallow here, so it feels pretty meaty and enjoyable to eat. I still managed to dip and melt some of the giant bunny in the hot chocolate, which was lovely. These are ideal as a fun and different Easter snack.

Lucky Charms Magically Delicious Marshmallows (GB Gifts) By @Cinabar

Lucky Charms are breakfast cereals that come with marshmallows and, in the UK at least, a hefty import price. I do like the cereals but only have them occasionally because of the price and the fact they are rather sweet. Now I have a sweet tooth, just perhaps not always at breakfast time.

This bag of Lucky Charms Magically Delicious Marshmallows is based on the just the mallow part, but unlike the dried mallows you get in the cereal box, these are big and fluffy. Yay! I have to admit to eating quite a few of these straight from the bag, they all have the same plain flavour but are sweet, a little creamy and soft and fluffy to munch on. They are super easy to eat. I think the real benefit of these marshmallows will be for the creativity with baking, there are lots of ideas for using these on top of cupcakes etc, they have the potential to make this sort of thing super cute. We have four leaf cloves, blue rainbows, stars and pink hearts.

Regular readers will know about my love of hot chocolate and yesterday was St Patrick’s Day - so this concoction seemed an obvious choice.

Peeps - Fruit Punch (Candy Mail) By @Cinabar

The only thing better than a hot chocolate is a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. The Americans have a huge brand of marshmallows called Peeps which are usually shaped as chicks but often seasonal editions in different shapes too. I bought a selection of their marshmallows to have with hot chocolates.

This box is the Peeps Fruit Punch edition, and the chicks inside are a bright shade of red. They sit in rows and pull apart quite easily. I popped one onto a bed of cream on top of a mug of cocoa. They do look lovely and very instagram worthy on top of the drink. I allowed the mallow to melt a little before giving it a taste. The coating on it was sweet and sour. Sherbet-like is probably the best description, but with a taste of Fruit Salad sweets. There was citrus and tang. The mallow smoothed out to a gentler flavour and was a lovely topper for a hot chocolate. I loved these Peeps Fruit Punch edition mallows. They are super cute and make me smile when making hot chocolate. I also can’t wait to try some of the Easter editions I picked up too. They are perfect fuel for my hot chocolate addiction.

Cocoba - Eat, Drink, Love : Hot Chocolate Bombes with Marshmallows by @Nli10

For Christmas we got a lot of hot chocolate themed presents - including these big chocolate Bombes from Cocoba. 

The idea is simple - pop it in a mug - nuke some milk - pour one over the other.

Stirring is crucial!

Hot milk - pour it on and...

Ah. Damn it.  Lets give it a poke.

Hot Chocolate! With floaty marshmallows.

And it's decently luxurious too - the chocolate has a little bit of a speckled tendency due to the way it needs to melt but its a decent quality and something I'm certainly keen to do again.

It's also good for teaching me the correct portion of marshmallows is around a third of what I'd usually add.

The Original Donut Shop Coffee Flavoured Marshmallow Peeps (GB Gifts) By @Cinabar

Peep are a brand of American marshmallows that, although they are available all year, are associated with Easter. A bit like our Creme Egg (although they aren’t around in the Summer). Peeps are usually chick shaped but have other seasonal variations and they have various flavours too throughout the year. I managed to find these at an online import shop, these ones are The Original Donut Shop Coffee Flavoured Marshmallow Peeps.I am going to guess that The Original Donut Shop is a chain of coffee shops in The States and that their coffee is pretty famous, so much so you can mallows flavoured with it.

Inside the pack was a row of Peeps chicks, which peeled apart, leaving my finger with bits of sugar on them. The smell of sugar and coffee was quite strong. The flavour is more mild with the marshmallow, it is is sweet and there is coffee but it is more delicate than the strong aroma suggested. The Original Donut Shop Coffee Flavoured Marshmallow Peeps are rather cute too and as regular readers will know I love hot chocolate, there really was only place to serve these Peeps, sitting on a cloud of cream on top of my cocoa.

Home made spinny hot chocolate - and luxury mallows by @NLi10 @BCConfectioner

 Pic from later on as key photo as I steamed up the lens and didn’t notice!

Today we have some new kit to review - it’s a hot chocolate spinning and heating machine! Hotel `chocolate call these Velvetisers and charge lots - but this is the Aldi version and     it works too!

First you spin the hot chocolate and fog up your lens.

Then you swap blades and make some frothy milk to go on top.

And sink In a few cheap mallows.

Then you do it again a few days later in the interests of getting better pictures!

This is my favourite ‘sweet’ hot chocolate.

Spins up nicely. Great temperature.

So what is this lovely square? As seen in the pic at the top these are Belinda Clark Gourmet Marshmallows. We bumped into these at Winchester Christmas fayre and decided one box would be a fine risk - then we got this hot chocolate thing and I wish I’d got three!

These are so damn fruity! And it turns out they are very local to Winchester so online is basically our only option. belindaclark.co.Uk is what you want if you fancy some too.

They melt really well in the hot chocolate and zing with the raspberry flavour and really add some sweetness to the dark chocolate. Given time I’m sure we will have more!