Bramble marshmallows

Makes 50 n 1 hour 10 minutes + setting

n A LITTLE EFFORT
Recipe SARAH COOK

Marshmallows

e have the French to thank for the

marshmallows we so adore today. Although
a discovery of the ancient Egyptians
who figured out that squeezing the sap
from the mallow plant and mixing it with nuts and honey
gave rise to a spongy and sweet confection it was in 19th
century France that the precursor to the marshmallow of
today took shape.
Marshmallows were initially made by mixing mallow root
sap, egg whites and sugar into a fluffy mixture. To speed up
production, the dessert-loving French added cornstarch to the
mix, giving the sweet its characteristic form. Around the same
time, candy makers started replacing mallow root sap with
gelatin, making the marshmallow more stable. The USA was
introduced to this new-and-improved marshmallow in the
early 1900s. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Americans have made marshmallows their own
and are in fact the largest consumers of the fluffy candy. It
is considered a year-round snack and part of an established
campfire tradition of roasted marshmallows and smores. A
marshmallow is skewered in at the end of a stick and held
carefully over the fire, creating a crisp, caramelised outer skin
which conceals a gooey, molten layer inside. A smore, on the
other hand, is made by placing a toasted marshmallow on
a slab of chocolate, which is then sandwiched between two
graham crackers.
When making marshmallows at home, whip corn syrup,
starch, sugar and water together with gelatin until soft peaks
form. Then spread the fluffy mixture in a baking tray and
smooth the top. When the mixture has set, cut it into small
cubes and coat these cubes in a cornstarch-and-sugar mix. To
jazz them up a little bit, add fruits or other flavourings.

icing sugar 50g

cornflour 50g
gelatin 30g
sugar 450g
liquid glucose 1 tbsp
egg whites 2 large
vanilla extract 1 tsp
blackberries 140g
n In a bowl, mix the icing sugar with
the cornflour and set aside. Dissolve
the gelatin in 150ml hot water. Line
a 20cm x 30cm tin with baking
parchment and dust with some of the
icing sugar mix. Place the sugar and
liquid glucose in a heavy-bottomed
pan with 200ml water. Cook over a
low heat until the sugar has dissolved
completely, turn up the heat and boil
until the mixture reaches firm ball
stage on a sugar thermometer (125C)
around 10-15 minutes. If you dont
have a thermometer, drop a little of the
mix into a glass of very cold water if it
sets into a semi-soft ball, its ready.

n While the sugar is boiling, use an

electric whisk to beat the egg whites
until stiff. When the syrup reaches the
right stage, pour it into the gelatin
water; be careful as it will be very hot
and may bubble up.
n Continue whisking the egg whites
while pouring in the syrup in a steady
stream, then adding the vanilla extract
the mixture will go shiny and start
to thicken. Continue whisking for
about 10 minutes until very stiff. Pour
half the egg white mixture into the
tin, then scatter over the berries. Top
with the remaining mixture and leave
somewhere cool to dry and set for at
least 2 hours until firm.
n Lay a large sheet of baking
parchment on a chopping board and
sprinkle on the remaining icing sugar
mix. Turn the marshmallows out and
cut into squares, rolling them in the
sugar mix. Keep in an airtight container.
n PER SERVING 46 kcals, protein none,
carbs 12g, fat none, sat fat none, fibre
none, sugar 11g, salt 0.01g

Photograph STUART OVENDEN Food styling sarah cook and cassie best Styling tony hutchinson

3rd anniversary
special feature

- by Shraddha Uchil
(Shraddha Uchil is a senior features writer at Good Food India
magazine.)

052-082-L4 coverstory-Shailesh.indd 98

20/10/14 10:55 AM