Marshmallows

Sigma Force

First attempt at marshmallows.
Was very naughty and used a fake strawberry flavouring, just a tich.
Have seen beetroot on River Cottage that was added for colour before but would rather a strawberry flavour, so if anyone knows how best to get a natural strawberry flavour let me know.

I guess I could mush some strawberries and sieve them or use some muslin but how many strawberries would be needed?

tfak85

they look bloody incredible!
what recipe did you use? i saw the beetroot on river cottage too, not sure i'd do it though!

Magic Monkey

There are strawberry marshmallow recipes out there, which use strawberry purée for that flavour you're looking for. To add to that, here is an interesting post about making marshmallows using spirits for additional flavour. You could add strawberry liqueur/schnapps to your mix for extra oomph.

Your marshmallows look awesome. Did you use icing sugar or 50:50 icing sugar:cornflour for the coating? How did you find the taste? Was the base egg whites or gelatine?

Sigma Force

I used gelatine, no eggwhites. I didn't realise until recently that there's no eggwhites in marshmallows or at least not in a lot of recipes for it.

I used 50% icing sugar and 50% cornflour I find it gives you that shop bought kind of texture that I like.

Recipe here Based on Rachel Allens recipe (can't stand her so nicked free recipe from a random website).

Ingredients

450g caster sugar
20g of Gelatine (origionally recipe says 2 x 7g sachets but 4g is not enough really)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
Sunflower oil for oiling tin

Method

1. Pour the sugar and 175ml (6fl oz) cold water into a heavy-based saucepan, place on a medium–high heat and bring to a rolling boil, stirring all the time until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for about 15–20 minutes without stirring, until a sugar thermometer dipped into the mixture reads 113°C. Alternatively, check that the soft-ball stage has been reached.

2. Pour the gelatine and 100ml cold water into the bowl of an electric food mixer and leave for about 10 minutes to soften before stirring to loosen up. As soon as the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature, begin to whisk the gelatine in the food mixer on a very low setting and then carefully pour in the syrup in a slow, steady stream, whisking all until it is fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, increase the whisking speed and leave to beat for about 20 minutes until thick, cool and beginning to set.

5. Meanwhile, grease a 20cm square cake tin with some of the sunflower oil, line with parchment paper and grease again. Toss the icing sugar and cornflour together and place in a sieve. Dust a little into the tin to evenly coat the base and sides, reserving the rest for later.

6. Pour the creamy marshmallow mixture into the prepared tin, spreading it evenly and smoothing the surface using a palette knife dipped in boiling water. Dust with a little more of the icing sugar and cornflour mixture, cover with cling film and allow to set in a cool, dry place (not the fridge) for 1–2 hours or overnight.

7. Once the marshmallow mixture has set, dust a clean work surface with the remaining icing sugar and cornflour mixture and turn the marshmallow slab out of the tin. Peel off the parchment paper and cut the marshmallows into about 36 squares. Toss them around to coat evenly in the icing sugar and cornflour. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to three weeks.