Making marshmallows is extremely easy. However, I don't necessarily have the right tools for extreme baking/candy making projects. I told the boyfriend I could start a blog on testing how far my little $15 hand mixer can go. Many people who have made marshmallows online say that a stand mixer is necessary, however, my little mixer survived! So it is possible, but keep your eye on your mixer and don't push it's boundaries. I used the marshmallow recipe from Smitten Kitchen's website and just jazzed it up a little bit after cutting the marshmallows.
Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Enough to fill a 10 x 16cm baking pan
1 cup powdered sugar (approximately, I didn't measure this out. Took what I needed from the box.)
2 tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatine powder (or 3 1/2 envelopes)
2 tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatine powder (or 3 1/2 envelopes)
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups cane sugar (I used 1 cup cane sugar and 1 cup granulated vanilla sugar)
1/2 cup liquid glucose (original recipe calls for light corn syrup but that is not available here)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup liquid glucose (original recipe calls for light corn syrup but that is not available here)
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites
1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
Oil bottom and sides of metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with powdered sugar.
In a large glass or metal bowl, or in the bowl of your standing mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of cold water and let stand to soften.
With your mixer, beat the 2 egg whites in a separate bowl until it holds stiff peaks. Set aside in the fridge for later.
In a heavy saucepan cook the sugar, liquid glucose, 1/2 cup of water, and salt over low heat stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and boil mixture until a candy thermometer reads 240 degrees farenheit or 115 degrees celsius. Remove the sugar syrup from heat once it has reached the right temperature, pour over the gelatin, and stir until gelatin has dissolved.
With your mixer, beat the gelatin and sugar mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume. Smitten Kitchen says that this will take about 6 minutes with a stand mixer and 10 with a hand mixer but I only let my mixer work for 6 minutes as the white fluff began to creep up my beaters.
Now take out the whipped egg whites and the vanilla and beat it into the white fluff until just combined. Pour mixture into the pan and don't worry if you don't get all of the mixture out. Sift powdered sugar over the top making sure that the entire pan is covered evenly. Chill marshmallow uncovered in the fridge, until firm, at least 3 hours and up to a day.
Run a thin knife around edges of the pan and invert onto a large cutting board. Life up one corner of the sheet of marshmallows and use your fingers to loosen it from the pan and onto the board. Using a large knife or a oiled pizza cutter, cut marshmallow into cubes or use a metal cookie cutter and cut into shapes. Roll each and every marshmallow in powdered sugar, making sure to get all sides, and shaking any excess off before packing them away.
The marshmallows can be stored in a air tight box for up to 1 week.
To jazz my marshmallows up, I dipped a third of them in melted and slightly cooled 70% dark chocolate and then in some shredded coconut. Another third was rolled in a mixture of powdered sugar and dehydrated raspberries which I crushed with a mortar. And the rest were kept plain for hot chocolate!
Low in fat but off the charts in sugar! So I'm limiting myself to 2 or 3 marshmallows a day and we've given away half the batch so that the boyfriend and I aren't consuming all this sugar by ourselves. I'm thinking some homemade marshmallows and a box of hot chocolate mix would be a really nice gift for friends this Christmas!
Happy marshmallow making!
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