After 6 weeks on the kitchen table my monster marrow has finally gone to a better place. From an 18lb beast to 9lb 7oz of flesh to 9 jars of delicious lemony marrow cream. I think it was a good way to go. 
If it’s getting a little boring reading about marrow cream again bear with me one last time; creaming the beast required further recipe revisions that I think you’ll be interested to hear. I averaged the 9lb+ flesh of the marrow to be 4.5 times the amounts in the original marrow cream post. I hadn’t quite shifted my brain into gear though with converting lbs into grams and underestimated how much butter I would need for a marrow that large. So using less better was circumstantial while the reduction in sugar was intentional after taste testing as it was gradually added. Time will tell if using less sugar effects it’s shelf life but the rate at which I’m eating marrow cream topped crispbreads and handing out jars to friends I don’t think this will be a problem.
how to make monster marrow cream
9lb 7oz of flesh, chopped and boiled in a splash of water
1lb of butter (that’s two 250g blocks)
800g sugar (908g is 2lb)
9 lemons (4 real ones and 5 lemons worth of bottled juice where 3tbsp=1 lemon)
(helpful hints for making marrow cream in itallics)
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- peel and core the marrow, weigh out and then boil the cut up flesh with a dash of water until it is soft (or cook slowly without water or a small knob of the butter)
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- Strain well and beat to a pulp or blitz in a blender. (leave for a further 10 minutes to drain through a collander – you’ll be surprised how much more water comes out)
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- Put into a pan with the sugar, butter, zest and juice of the lemons. (you’ll get a lot more juice out of the lemon if you roll it firmly back and forth on the worktop first. If using a hand blender give it another whizz for a smoother texture)
- Boil slowly for 45 mins then jar it and use as a spread or filling for tarts etc (once boiled put the lid on to prevent the volcanic cream eruptions to shoot out of the pan and onto the floor/your arm/the cat)
Oh my goodness that is one humongous marrow. Glad it has been converted into something creamy, luscious and tasty, as I am not much a fan of it otherwise.
Wow – I’ve never heard of marrow cream, it sounds great! Lovely blog too.
Know what you mean about the volcano effect – it went everywhere!!!
I’ll try the silicon cases for my cupcakes, I’m enjoying my personal challenge with these, I’ll probably put weight on though!
Oh my stars that’s (was) huge!
mc – humungous, whopping, monster, beast, it’s been called all things since it came home with us (all said affectionately of course!) I think you’ll be converted by the cream.
thanks shoestringalley, glad you stopped by. I’ll have a ponder about a shoestring recipe for you. Do you have any ready-steady-cook like criteria? like feeding 4 using 4 ingredients for under £4?
Ann – volcanic eruptions were new this time, probably because the pan was so full! I still want to try a biscuit base treat using the marrow cream but am puzzling over how to make mini ones rather than a family size one. I wondered about Yorkshire pudding trays but can foresee that ending in disaster – a marrow meringue mess probably!
Darla – stuffed it probably could have fed your family twice over :o) which is why it had to be creamed – there’s only two of us!
You finally succumbed to the marrow cream ! I think it is a great way of using it and unusual also.How many uses can the cream be put to? maybe some suggestions will surface.
Just read about this over at MangoCheeks – what a fantastic idea. Didn’t grow any marrows this year and now wishing I had. Must try and remember this for next year.
Mangocheeks petal pastries showed up the texture of the marrow cream beautifully. I’m sure to be making vat loads again next year so I’ll give you a nudge when I do ;o)
That would be much appreciated – thank you.
[…] I came across this recipe from nipitinthebud, who made three batches of marrow cream, reducing the sugar each time. When I […]
I plan to make this and use as a filling in my wedding cake. Did you find the shelf life to be ok? did it discolour over time? I’m just wondering how far in advance I can whip it up!
Hi Melissa, congratulations on your forthcoming nuptials :o)
The shelf life is good provided the jars are airtight. As the flavour isn’t enhanced by storing though (unlike chutneys) I’d personally prefer to make it nearer the time of use. The colour doesn’t change at all.
This may be stating the obvious but I’d recommend a trial run with filling. Although this is called ‘cream’ it has the textured of pureed apples so not especially solid and don’t know if it would make the cake soft if making ahead. Felicity added corn flour to her batch which thickened it up so perhaps there’s some kind of frosting it would mix with?
Do let me know how you get on. I’d be delighted to post a picture of your cake if you do go for this filling.
Best wishes, Nic
that purple wedding cake is AWESOME!!!
yes, I am sure people think i’ve gone mad to make my own cake, but the problem is
1. I don’t want to spend over $50 on my cake – and
2. I’m vegan, so getting a custom cake made would put me up there at about $800-$1000 which of course brings me back to point #1!
We are getting married next october and I thought about making the cakes about 2 months in advance as I will need to assemble the tiers the day before and then I plan to decorate with fresh flowers. I want lemon cake with marzipan on the outside. Looks like you chose fondant? I have never made it before and heard that it is really sweet, which is why I am leaning towards marzipan. Tips?
I am sure if the curd is thickened with arrowroot it will gel nicely. Arrowroot also freezes really well too, so it shouldn’t seep into the cake. I also have a vitamix, so I am sure running it through that thoroughly will make it ultimately smooth.
I will definitely do a trial run in advance – and even freeze it to see how it holds up.
I’ll definitely let you know how it turns out!!
melissa
fondant is really sweet – I always pick it off! We saw it as a means to an end for decorating the cake the colour we wanted. I don’t suppose many people actually ate it :o)
Ha ha, I’d forgotten I didn’t want to forget this!
[…] A friend recently gave me a marrow the length of my arm and the width of my head. I’m not exaggerating here but I deleted a whole bunch of photos accidentally so I know you won’t believe me. It was bigger than this one. […]
No marrows that big here but so many of them that they would, when all added together, be the equivalent ;). Cheers for a most entertaining read and for pointing me in the right direction to some more wonderful blogs to add to my rss feed reader. It’s funny how reading 1 post can last 30 minutes when you are heading off laterally all over the place…lucky its sunday and there isn’t much else to do (AND I got up at 5am to start reading before the rest of the family are up… 😉 )
thank you Narf for such lovely comments – you’ve made my day as I blog so rarely now that I wonder if I’m talking to myself now on the odd occasion I do post something. I’m pleased my archive is interesting and useful, that was all I hoped for when I started blogging so to have met so many other wonderful bloggers over the years is really the icing on the cake. cheerio, N x