Leaning Tower of Marshmallows
After seeing this post on Helen’s blog, I was absolutely enamoured with the idea of making actual sweets at home - not the baked kind. However, the recipe required the use of a sugar thermometer, and alas I had none…
till now.
My new favourite kitchen toy
$20 later, I left the CakeDeco store in Flinders Arcade on Thursday afternoon with a brand new sugar thermometer and a desire to delve into the world of home-made marshmallows (or Chamallows, as Helen calls them), yet the opportunity didn’t arise till Saturday morning, when I bunkered down with grim determination to make something with this new toy of mine.
My mallows are a lot less neat than Helen’s, but the flavour and texture of these home-made goodies makes up for any amount of wonkiness!
Oh lordy - I’ve had hand-made marshmallows before, but in no way did they compare to these. I take no credit, the recipe is marvellous, forgiving and hard to muck up, and this is definetely something I’m going to be making again, and which will be part of my xmas goodie bags! They are moist and soft yet chewy, and flavoured beautifully with vanilla - and believe me when I say that once you try these delightful little pillows of goodness, you’ll never be able to go back to the store-bought type again!
Home-Made Marshmallows (from Tartelette)
Ingredients
2 tbsp + 1 1/4 tsp powdered plain gelatin
3/4 cup cold water
2 cups caster sugar
2/3 cup light coloured corn syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites
1 cup soft icing mixture*
* Soft icing mixture is different from pure icing sugar though they look the same. Pure icing sugar is regular white sugar that has been ground into a powder, whereas soft icing mixture is powdered sugar mixed with the same quantity of corn starch.
1. Line a 20cm x 15cm baking pan (or casserole dish) with cling wrap (plastic wrap), then cover with an even dusting of soft icing mixture, at least 1mm thick on the bottom and sides. If you prefer, you can spray the plastic with cooking spray instead (I just didn’t have any)
2. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl then set aside.
3. Combine 1/4 cup of water, 1 3/4 cups sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan and place over a low heat to cook without stirring. Leave till temperature reaches 110 degrees C , then stir in the softened gelatin and stir in till well combined (mixture will go foamy).
4. While the sugars are cooking, beat the egg whites, salt and vanilla extract till foamy, then add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, till stiff peaks form.
5. Gradually pour in the gelatin mixture into your meringue base, making sure to beat well after each addition, then beat for another 3-4 minutes or till mixture is very thick.
6. Pour mixture into the prepared dish, then dust the top with another layer of soft icing mixture. Place in the fridge for up to 8 hours, or till mixture is fairly firm to the touch and your finger springs back when you press it.
7. Dust your bench with more soft icing mixture as necessary, turn out the mixture and make sure that all surfaces are dusted and not sticky. Using a sharp knife, cut the block into 2cm squares. Dust the newly cut surfaces in more soft icing mixture, then store the batch in between sheets of baking paper in an air-tight container (in the fridge if you’re having warm weather).
These soft squishy pillows will be loved by young and old alike
What a wonderful sweet to present for Xmas - especially for those of us who won’t see any snow this holiday season, at least we can still have something fluffy and white 
Technorati Tags: marshmallows, chamallow, home-made, sweets, recipes, boiled sugar, meringues
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Comments
YummY! I love homemade marshmallows. I made peppermint ones last year and am tempted again. Although I didn’t use a candy temp. I always just eye ball it. Is that bad??
You are so all over it my girl. I keep wanting to do this. Don’t really like the ones that come in plastic bags, they taste like plastic to me.
I’m very jealous of you and your marvellous marshmallow making abilities, my attempt at it was a disaster. I’ll try again another day…
Yeah you did it…now on to macarons!…kidding although when it comes to sugar and boiling things, the fun for me is much more in the making than in the eating… Cnadies are the perfect occasions to play with food.
Yours look like pillows I want to rest my head onto.
Great job!
Ed - Aww, thanks hon I ended up making another batch today (the first was given away at my mom’s church) and they turned out a bit neater, but as you said, I’m thinking that some wonkiness adds a little home-made charm (I hope!)
Rachel - not bad at all! I wish I could eyeball, but as this weekend was my first go with boiled sugar, I wanted to play within the safe confines of having a sugar thermometer to tell when things were ready! Maybe with more practice I’ll be able to eyeball too 
Tanna - You should definetely try these - they’re surprisingly easy for something that you’re sure would require a lot of work! And taste much better than the plasticky supermarket ones!
Brilynn - I put all glory in the hands of the recipe, I’ve made this twice now and the recipe has led me to success each time It’s definetely worth a shot!
Helen - You can betcha bottom dollar that macarons are next! I wanted to try them this weekend but with the crazy 39 degree C heat all weekend I didn’t think the egg whites would like it too much! Ahh, maybe next weekend Thank you for putting up this recipe, it’s a marvel!
Kat - Absolutely, nothing like home-made to put a smile on your dial
Peabody - that they are…but I wonder if they can be toasted? That’s what I’m achin to try but I’m too worried they’ll just instantly turn into charcoal! 
Those are lovely. Now that you’ve tackled plain marshmallows, you’ll have to try them with fruit. Add ~1/2 cup of pureed fruit (I often use frozen raspberries) to the gelatin when you set it to bloom. Everything else is the same.
Kitchenmage - awesome suggestion! I did want to try making peppermint marshmallows, but I was wondering how I’d get other flavours without resorting to artificial essences! Will try some berry ones next time round
Mummygourmand - you should be able to store them for quite some time so long as you make sure to take precautions to protect them from condensation. I think that if you pack them in icing sugar and into an airtight container in the freezer, you should be okay to make them perhaps up to a month before Christmas!
Did you make the soft icing mixture or buy it?
The marshmallows look wonderful, and I’ll give the recipe a try soon!
Ellie - Wow! Your marshmellows look divine. I actually like that they aren’t “neat.” I think it makes them even more temptingly scrumptious.