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 
[tags]marshmallows, chamallow, home-made, sweets, recipes, boiled sugar, meringues[/tags]
