Kate Doran's Peppermint Marshmallows

Kate Doran from The Little Loaf blog shares a recipe from her gorgeous new cookbook.

When I first started writing my cookbook, Homemade Memories, I wanted to recreate the treats I ate and adored as a child; things like fruit pastilles, angel delight, chocolate caterpillar and jaffa cakes. As I tested the recipes, I soon realized that this wasn’t simply a question of recreating those treats, but of improving on them with the best quality ingredients, new flavour combinations and a little love and attention.

Marshmallows never really excited me until I tried making them at home. The difference between the pink and white packets of chewy cubes you can buy in the shops and these bouncy, cloud-like mouthfuls is truly untold.

My favourite way to flavour these is with peppermint – it’s cool and fresh and cuts through the sweetness, as well as being the perfect partner for hot chocolate. Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, feel free to experiment with other extracts, oils or freeze-dried powders.

Marshmallows are simple to make as long as you have the right equipment. This recipe calls for a thermometer and, if not a stand mixer then certainly an electric whisk: both worthy additions to your kitchen and important if you want to achieve those pillows of marshmallow perfection.


 For the marshmallow Serves: 20

  • Sunflower oil, for greasing
  • Gelatine
  • 2 egg whites
  • Pinch salt
  • 280g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (see page 249 of Homemade Memories for how to make your own)
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract

For the coating

  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp cornflour

Equipment


Method

  1. Lightly grease an 18cm square cake tin with oil. Line the base with baking parchment then lightly grease that too. Place the sheets of gelatine in a bowl of cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes, until soft.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large, clean, dry bowl with a hand-held electric mixer, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form.
  3. In a medium saucepan, combine the caster sugar, golden syrup and 125ml water over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 122–125°C on a sugar thermometer.
  4. Working quickly, squeeze as much water as possible from the gelatine sheets and add them, along with the vanilla and peppermint extracts, to the sugar syrup, stirring to combine and dissolve the gelatine. With the whisk running on medium speed, pour the hot syrup into the whipped egg whites in a steady stream. Take care not to pour syrup onto the whisk or it could splash up and burn you.
  5. Once incorporated, increase the speed, then continue whisking for 3–4 minutes until the mixture is thick and glossy. Scrape into your prepared tin and allow to set at room temperature for 2–3 hours.
  6. Sift the icing sugar and cornflour over a chopping board. Turn out the set marshmallow and cut into squares, then toss to coat.
  7. The marshmallows will keep in an airtight container for 3–4 days.
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