Home-made Vanilla Marshmallows
Nothing beats homemade marshmallows for the flavour and real, natural ingredients. It’s simply egg whites, gelatin, sugar and vanilla dusted in icing sugar and corn flour. That’s it! I’ve tried and tested many recipes using unrefined sweeteners like honey and rapadura sugar, but the taste or consistency just wasn’t right. My theory is that it’s a bit of rare treat so I may as well indulge in the real thing!
They only take about 15-30 minutes to whip up, but there’s a bit of juggling so the key is to be very organised and precise. I recommend reading the recipe a few times to get the order as timing is quite important. Have all of your ingredients measured out, equipment ready to go, and mentally go through the steps before you do it. The most important tools are a sugar thermometer and stand mixer. But don’t let this put you off! Once you’ve made them once, you’ll become addicted to experimenting with your own flavours and you’ll fall in love with the perfect, pillowy texture and melt in your mouth sweet fluffiness.
Now a note about gelatin. Titanium strength gelatin leaves create the best result. However, it’s often not possible to know the source of this type of gelatin (eg. is it pasture-raised?). So if a high quality and healthy source of pasture-raised bovine gelatin is your priority, you may want to consider a gelatin powder that you’ll “bloom” before making (a simple process described below).
Home-made marshmallows are perfect toasted by the fire on their own or sandwiched between two biscuits! Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
6 1/4 gelatin leaves OR 3 Tablespoons pasture-fed gelatin powder (See Notes)
2 egg whites
260 grams caster sugar, divided into 185 grams and 75 grams portions
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted, for dusting
1/4 cup corn flour, sifted, for dusting
METHOD:
Place the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften, enough to cover them OR if using gelatin powder, place 3 Tbs and 3/4 cup water in a small bowl to “bloom”. This will take about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a 20cm by 20cm baking pan with baking paper. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment, close to the stove. Place the 75g portion of caster sugar in a small bowl near the mixer.
To make your sugar syrup, place the 185 gram portion of caster sugar in a saucepan with 100ml water over medium heat until it reaches 127 degrees. You’ll need a sugar thermometer to watch the temperature. This usually takes about 5 -10 minutes.
While you’re waiting, squeeze out any excess water from your gelatin leaves which will have softened OR scoop your bloomed gelatin and place in a bowl over a saucepan with simmering water to melt.
When the sugar syrup reaches 118 deg on the sugar thermometer, start whisking the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks. With the mixer still whisking, slowly pour in the 75 grams of caster sugar. It will start looking like meringue.
When the sugar syrup reaches 127 degrees, take it off the heat and stir in the melted gelatin and vanilla. It will be very hot and may bubble quite a bit so take care!
With the mixer whisking, slowly pour in the gelatin /sugar mixture down the side of the bowl. When it’s all in, keep it whisking another 7 minutes or so until the mixture has cooled down. It will be like a meringue, but oozy and sticky.
Using a spatula, transfer the mixture into your prepared baking tin and smooth it out. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, they are home made after all!
Place the tray into the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
When the marshmallows are ready, slowly peel the baking paper away from the edges and cut into 4cm squares. It will be wobbly and sticky. In a bowl, mix together the icing sugar and corn flour. Toss each marshmallow in the icing sugar mixture and place on a plate.
Store in an airtight container, ideally between sheets of baking paper for up to 3 days.
Notes:
If using gelatin powder, one of the brands I use is Nutraorganics natural grass fed, unflavoured gelatin. High quality gelatin is believed to aid digestion and strengthen bones, joints and muscle tissue, amongst other things.
As the marshmallows can be sticky to cut, it helps to use a sharp knife and dust it with some of your icing sugar and corn flour mix.