I loved the reaction I got this week when I told the kids that I had made them homemade marshmallows. “Really – you can make marshmallows?” Keep in mind that these kids grew up with a mom who made everything. They weren’t asking whether I could make marshmallows but rather that marshmallows could be made at home. Frankly, I was just as amazed at how easy they were to whip up. A little play on words because that’s the trick – you should have a stand mixer to whip the hot syrup into the gelatin. It would be possible with a hand mixer but your arm would need a sling by the time you finished.
I started out intending to make a classic vanilla marshmallow thinking that I had all the required ingredients. WRONG! I had forgotten to buy corn syrup. First rule of thumb when you are cooking is to make sure that you have everything you need to prepare the dish. I already had the gelatin softening so I switched gears and decided to substitute maple syrup for the corn syrup/sugar combination.
I love the flavour of maple so how bad could they be? They were unbelievable. Treat yourself and your family and give them a whirl – I’m loving the double entendres…
Maple Marshmallows
Heavily coat a 9x13x2″ baking pan with icing/powdered sugar – this makes removing the marshmallows from the pan much easier
Place 2 cups of maple syrup in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Continue boiling until sryup reaches the hardball stage. This will take about 10 minutes – careful that the syrup does not boil over.
Meanwhile in the bowl of your stand mixer sprinkle 3-7g packets of gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water and allow to soften for 10 minutes.
When the syrup has reached the hardball stage – helps if you have a candy thermometer – remove from heat. Using the whisk attachment with the mixer running on low, slowly pour the hot syrup into the middle of the bowl. Once all of the syrup is in the mixer, increase the speed to high and whip for 10 minutes or until the mixture looks like soft marshmallows. While it’s mixing add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
When marshmallows are done whipping, using a damp spatula and scrape into prepared baking pan. They are really sticky…
Leave to set for 3 hours then cut into squares and roll in icing sugar.
They will keep up to 3 days in a dry container but probably won’t last more than an hour if your family is anything like mine!
Thanks for reading.