More Marshmallows

Several weeks ago I was hanging out over at Carol and Greg's place. Much to my chagrin, sweet Carol mentioned that sometimes she feels like she can't post under her own name here at CCX, so she posts anonymously because the topics often make her blush. Imagine that! She also mentioned that the "kahlua marshmallow" idea came from her - anonymously. She so inspired me that I had to create a marshmallow just for Carol, but not the kahlua ones she had imagined.

For this recipe, there will be absolutely no blush-inducing comments. No talk of spanking benches or sex toy mishaps or assless chaps. No mention of that thing boy-most-likely-to does with his tongue. No new ideas for Saturday night adventures. No blog fantasies about Heraldo or Carson Park Ranger. No photos of drag queens or discussions of stiletto heels and sequined panties. No shameless flirtation with Jane Doe, Erin, Headwrapper, Mresquan and.....oh, who am I kidding....all the rest of you. And there certainly won't be any mention of Carol's own shameless flirtation with Humboldt Turtle over at The Herald. Ahem. And so I give you (in recipe format for you email beggers - sorry for the slacking):

Carol's Please-Stop-Talking-About-Saturday-Night
Blushing Pink Marshmallows

4 envelopes gelatin
1/2 cup strawberry puree
1 and 1/4 cup water
3 cups sugar
1 and 1/4 cups light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar and cornstarch for dusting

Line a 13" x 9" pan with aluminum foil and lightly rub with vegetable oil.

Mix the strawberry puree and 1/2 cup of the water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Sprinkle the gelatin over to soften.

Put the sugar, corn syrup, remaining 3/4 cup water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until it reaches the soft ball stage (234 - 240 F).

Turn the mixer on to full speed and slowly pour the hot syrup down the sides of the bowl. Whip until the mixture is very stiff and fluffy, about 15 minutes.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Let sit uncovered at room temperature for at least 8 hours.

Mix equal parts powdered sugar and corn starch and spread some onto your work surface. Turn the marshmallow mass out onto this and peel off the foil. Dust with more sugar/starch. Slice into squares using a thin-bladed knife and dip all cut edges into the sugar/starch mixture.

Marshmallows will keep several weeks if kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy!

If you need more in-depth instruction with photos, look here.

These marshmallows are delicious and so pretty with just their faint hint of blushing spring pink. When I took them to work they were snapped up so quickly I didn't even have time to save any to deliver to the muse herself. Sorry, Carol!

Marshmallow Monday

I know it's not Monday, but Marshmallow Tuesday just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Some of you, based on a few emails I've received, have been waiting with bated sugary breath for a new marshmallow experiment. For the record, I said I'd try a new one every week or so. To me, this means every 1 - 3 weeks. Any longer than that and it would be every month or so. Thank you for your patience and your fabulous marshmallow ideas.

I had originally planned to make dulce de leche marshmallows but wasn't sure how exactly to do it. Then Carson Park Ranger left a comment about filled churros in Chile that got me inspired. I decided I'd make marshmallows flavored with strong Mexican vanilla, fill them with dulce de leche and coat them in a sugar/cinnamon topping to mimic the churros. So now I give you:

Carson Park Ranger's Dulce de Leche Filled Marshmallows

First you need to make the dulce de leche, which is really easy. All you do is take a can of sweetened condensed milk, remove the label and stick it in a pot of water. Make sure the water covers the can completely. Boil this for 3-4 hours (It will be runny at 3, fairly firm at 4.) You'll need to keep adding water to keep the can covered as it boils off. Let it cool. Open it up and....voila! Yummy, milky, sweet caramel. Some people will tell you that you should poke a hole in the can before boiling it so it doesn't explode. Just ignore this alarmist talk. The hole just makes you have to cook it a lot longer. It'll be fine. Trust me.

Make the regular vanilla marshmallows as described earlier. Pour half of the marshmallow goop in the pan and use a spatula to smooth it out. Then pour on the dulce de leche. Smooth this all over the top of the marshmallow.

Then put the rest of the marshmallow goop on top of that and smooth it out. Then comes your real decision: The marshmallow or the dulce de leche. Which to lick first?

Let the pan sit uncovered for eight hours, then gently flip it over onto your work surface spread with powdered sugar and cornstarch. Cut it into strips and then cut those into cubes.

This picture might give you pause to indulge in a delectable little fantasy about being the dulce de leche filling in a Heraldo/Carson Park Ranger marshmallow. Or maybe that's just me.


Add a little cinnamon to your powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture, stir and coat your marshmallows. They're certainly not the prettiest things in the world, but they totally make up for it in taste.

Here are a few comments from my favorite random taste testers:

Anonymous Taste Tester #1: "Mmmmmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm."

Blogger Nerd Taste Tester #1: "I think I'm going to go into sugar shock. But I don't care."

Anonymous Taste Tester #2: "These are unbelievable."

Blogger Nerd Taste Tester #2: "I like these marshmallows more than long boring meetings and porn."

Curmudgeonly Work Taste Tester: "These are...interesting." (as she grabs two more and shoves them in her mouth)

Enjoy!

Marshmallow Monday

Maybe it's the plethora of multi-colored peeps lining the grocery store shelves, but the beginning of spring always makes me crave marshmallows. Not those tough bland round things you find in plastic bags, though. I want big fluffy melt-in-your-mouth and full of flavor marshmallows - the kind I can only get from making them myself.

So on the vernal equinox, I presented all my friends with little packages of puffy white squares. Most people don't even know that it's possible to make your own marshmallows. My friends looked at me with suspicion and wrinkled noses when I explained what they were. They gingerly held them in their hands and sniffed before daring to take a small nibble. Then the magic happened. A smile spread across their faces, and their eyes rolled back in their heads. They shoved the whole thing in their mouths, smiled at me with powdered sugar-covered teeth and longingly asked, "Do you have any more?"

So I made more. And more. And still they demanded more.

Suddenly I became tired of only making plain vanilla marshmallows. Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I'm a girl who likes to explore. I realized if I was going to be on a marshmallow-making spree, I needed to shake it up. Go a little wild. Let my marshmallow freak flag fly.

So I've decided to undertake a marshmallow experiment. I will be creating a different flavor every week or so and will post the results until I run out of ideas...or get bored...or move on to experimenting with something - or someone - else.

On this Marshmallow Monday, none of you will be the least bit surprised as I present to you:

Limoncello Marshmallows

The ingredients: gelatin, sugar, powdered sugar, corn syrup, corn starch and the last of the meyer limoncello that helped get me through a dark cold winter in the country. The powdered sugar and cornstarch are used to coat the marshmallows. I prefer potato starch as it's lighter in texture and taste, but sometimes it's hard to find. Use it if you can find it.

I almost forgot the salt. Salt is very important. It rounds out the flavor, and you should never leave it out. Trust me.

You'll also need a stand mixer like a Kitchenaid. Don't even try to make marshmallows with a hand mixer. You need to whip them for at least fifteen minutes, and a hand mixer just can't take it. Yep, marshmallows like to be whipped - long and hard. Just like the baker. Mmmmm hmmmmm. Oh yeah. Wait, what was I talking about? Mixers. Right. You need a stand mixer. Here's mine. The lovely yellowish greenish mixer on the right is one my mom got before my 1st birthday which was a very long time ago. It still kicks ass in the kitchen. Kitchenaids rock. You also need a candy thermometer. I like the kind that you can attach to the side of the pan. If you don't have a thermometer, you can always do it the old fashioned way, but a thermometer is much easier.

First you put 3/4 cup of liquid in the bowl of the mixer, sprinkle four packets of gelatin over the top and let it sit for a few minutes. This is called "blooming" the gelatin which means it turns it into a gooey mass. For vanilla marshmallows I would use water, but for these I substituted limoncello for the water. After several minutes I realized the gelatin was not blooming. Having not paid much attention in pastry school to the actual chemistry of things, I didn't know exactly what but figured that something must be wrong with using all limoncello. See how this is liquid and there are granules all around the side of the bowl? This is not what you want.


So I dumped the mess and started again, this time using 1/2 cup of limoncello and 1/4 cup water. I also figured that the lemon flavor wouldn't be as strong, so I added two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. See how this looks sort-of firm and gooey? That's what you want to see. When it looks like this, stick the bowl on the mixer with the whip attachment all ready to go.

Then in a saucepan you put 1 and 1/4 cups of corn syrup, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 tsp. of salt and 3 cups of sugar. Only I didn't have 3 cups of sugar. I only had about 2 and 1/4. Groaning because the closest store is 40 minutes away I decided to improvise. I had a box of sugar cubes in the pantry and grabbed those. Each sugar cube is 4 grams. A cup is...um.....hmmmm. Another moment where paying attention in either math or pastry school would have been to my benefit, but alas, my philosophy of "life is an art not a science" always won in the end. So I grabbed a couple of handfuls of sugar cubes, threw them in, said a little prayer to the candy making gods, turned on the burner to medium high and stuck the candy thermometer to the side of the pan. I'm sure that you will have 3 full cups of sugar in your cupboard and will use that.


You need to stir this mixture at first so the sugar doesn't burn and smell up your house and ruin your saucepan and cause you to swear you'll never make another marshmallow as long as you live. Within minutes the sugar will be dissolved, and the mixture will be boiling. It needs to reach a soft ball stage which is 235 - 240 degrees Fahrenheit. This is supposed to be a picture of the syrup boiling and the thermometer at 240 degrees, but the steam kept fogging up the camera. You get the idea.


When the syrup reaches this stage, take it off the heat. Make sure the splash guard is on your mixer and turn it on the highest setting. Then slowly pour the hot syrup down the inside of the bowl so that it gradually mixes into the gelatin. Make sure the splash guard is on. Did I say that already? Boiling hot sugar syrup splashing into your eye is not a pleasant experience. Trust me.


Let this whip for fifteen minutes. This will give you plenty of time to clean up the sticky mess on the stove and counter and do the dishes. Or you can be like me and use the time to sit on the couch and have a lovely glass of what's left of the limoncello. There's always time later for dishes but limoncello waits for no one. You also need to prepare a pan by rubbing it with oil and dusting it with a mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch in equal parts that you've mixed in a bowl. Cover this bowl and save it. You'll need it later.


After fifteen minutes the sugar mixture will be white, fluffy and will stand in a peak when you remove the whip. Or when you stick in a finger. Not that I would do that or anything.


Now just use a spatula to help pour the pre-marshmallow goop into your prepared pan and smooth the top. I didn't get a picture of that step because I lost focus when the spatula made its last swipe across the top of the goop. There it was in my hand begging to be licked. A person with self-control would toss the naughty thing in the soapy dishwater so the temptation would be gone. I'll give you one guess as to which option I chose.

You now have to let them sit in the pan for at least four hours, but it's better if you wait for eight. After your grueling wait that will feel like forever, spread a layer of powdered sugar and cornstarch on your work surface as if you were going to roll out pie dough, then turn the pan upside down and flip the marshmallow mass out. You should have a firm but squishy rectangle before you.


Use an oiled knife to cut off strips, and then cut each strip into squares. Don't worry if they're a little uneven. You don't want them to look like they were made in a factory after all.

After you cut off each square, dip it into the bowl of powdered sugar and cornstarch so that all four sides are covered. They're too sticky to handle if you don't. Stack them on a pretty plate and amaze your friends and family. You'll be surprised at how quickly they disappear.


WARNING: These limoncello marshmallows turned out delicious, but don't leave them sitting out for just anyone to grab. Each one has quite a nice amount of still-potent alcohol in it. I made the mistake of leaving these on the table before running a few errands in town. When I returned to a much smaller marshmallow pile, Squirrel was holding his stomach, moaning and mumbling about two-headed cows in the pasture. Enjoy!

P.S. Especially for Ekovox and Ladyfriend: Use all water instead of limoncello and two tablespoons of vanilla instead of lemon juice, and you've got the makings for the best peanut butter cup s'mores you've ever tasted. xoxox

P.P.S. This week's experiment will be either dulce de leche or passion fruit marshmallows. If you've got an idea for a good one please leave it in the comments. Thanks!