The recipe that almost wasn't

This is the recipe that almost wasn't!

Amid an entirely too busy weekend, I had decided to try and make something new. Mostly because lent was starting on Monday and I wanted some kind of dessert option.

I have been wanting to try making my own Marshmallows for ages, but kept putting it off. It was an episode of Unwrapped that finally spurned my interest in making my own version of the gooey treat! But when I went to make it, I discovered that I had no corn syrup. And amid the running around I had already done, I had not managed to make it to the store. The three hours I spent at the Tax guy arguing about my hybrid deduction (I was right) just didn't help.

Plus, I thought the recipe was gonna take longer than I had. I had less than an hour available between seeing my great uncle for his birthday and the time I was suppose to meet friends to go see Ultraviolet (see review later), but having sent my dad out for corn syrup ahead of time, I decided to go forward anyway!

I am so glad I did!

Now aren't those pretty?

The recipe did take about 45 minutes but, as about 15 of those was taken up by the stand mixer which pretty much can be left unmonitored, I had plenty of time to get ready for my movie. The process was surprisingly easy and the results far more rewarding than I would have imagined. Working with searing hot sugar always makes me nervous, but as the contact is limits to carrying the small sauce pan to the stand mixer and pouring it slowly in, it pretty much eliminated the possibility that I was gonna burn myself.

The recipe below appears as I would reprise it next time with notes about the original in the footers!

Marshmallows
1 cup cold water (divided use)
2.5 Tablespoons gelatin or vegan alternative (agar-agar)
1.5 Cups (vanilla) sugar
1 Cup light corn syrup
.25 teaspoons salt
2-5 Tablespoons flavoring
Powdered sugar
Melted Chocolate for dipping (optional)

Generously dust a 9x13 pan with powdered sugar [1]. There should be a thick coating on the sides and bottom. If the sugar does not adhere use a small amount of cooking spray.

Place gelatin into the bowl of a mixer with half a cup of water and let stand 15 minutes or until the gelatin has absorbed all of the water and is hydrated[2].

In a small sauce pan, combine salt, sugar, corn syrup, and half a cup of water. Place on medium heat and stir to dissolve. Once the sugar is partially dissolved but still cloudy, attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and continue to stir until the sugar solution boils. Once it has boiled, raise the heat slightly and stop stirring[3]. Cook undisturbed until the sugar reaches the firm ball stage (244F). Once the sugar reaches this temperature, turn off the heat and allow to stand for 2-3 minutes or until no further bubbles appear in the mixture[4].

Ensure that the gelatin has not solidified, if it has, start the mixer on low and ass a couple more tablespoons of water until it moves freely again. With the mixer on low, slowly stream in the hot sugar solution. Once it is all incorporated, increase the speed to high and continue to beat until the mixture begins to pale and increase in volume.

Add your flavorings. If you are using vanilla you should add 2 tablespoons, other flavorings such as extracts, liquors, or oils may require more or less depending on strength. Typically, liquors require 4-5 tablespoons.

Continue to beat until mixture is thick, glossy, and has increased in volume 3 fold. This should take approximately 15 minutes but it is very hard to overeat. Pour mixture immediately into your powdered baking dish. Dust the top with powdered sugar and gently smooth surface with slight pressure.

Allow to dry over night.

Turn out onto a powdered surface, dusting with more powdered sugar as necessary. Using a powdered sugar dusted knife [5], cut the marshmallows into 1 inch cubes, lightly dusting the newly cut sides.

Alternatively, instead of dusting the marshmallows with powdered sugar, they can be dipped in melted chocolate to create a thin candy coating.

Place in air tight container.

The results?

Silky and creamy, these are no match for commercial varieties. The mixture flowed in thick glossy ribbons from the mixer bowl whispering promises that it more than fulfilled. They have a lovely, smooth mouth feel with a fruity tang due mostly to the addition of Crème de Cassis, which incidentally gives them their faint pink color. They are delightfully satisfying to bite into, yielding immediately to the teeth and melting over the tongue. I served these with fresh strawberries. A match made in heaven, better than whipped cream!

But the taste was the most surprising thing. They tasted very much like a confection of my youth. A children’s dessert called pastilage. A confection made of egg whites and piped into beehive peaks. Though in my opinion these were better, lacking the sometimes objectionable eggy after taste.

This recipe is definitely a keeper!  I think I shall be trying this one again.  Maybe next time, with Amaretto.

[1]  Because the sugar took time to come up to temperature, I worked on the pan while the sugar was cooking.
[2]  Most recipes say a half hour but I found that in a half hour the gelatin had solidified completely
[3]  Stirring once the sugar has boiled promotes sugar crystal formation and makes the mixture grainy
[4]  Allowing the mixture to cool a degree or two prevents sugar crystal formation (at least according to Alton Brown)
[5] I initially tried to use dental floss to cut the marshmallows but found that it stuck too much. What worked best was a long knife that I continued to repowder with more powdered sugar. After three or for times through, enough powdered stuck that no further sugaring was needed.