MamaBake’s Favourite Marshmallow Recipe!

I hate it when you have a hankering for marshmallows so you make a beeline down to the local shops to grab a bag load.  Then you spy the ingredients list and ugh, SO much sugar and other yucky stuff (and – ahem – goaheadandbuythemanyway). 

ANYWAY!  If you fancy having a crack at marshmallows for yourself, then here’s a recipe for you.  And it’s actually pretty easy.

Our marshmallow recipe uses straightforward ingredients you have heard of, can hold, can actually pronounce and probably have in your cupboard without having a guilty conscience about killing hundreds of orangutans in the process.

This recipe has your marshmallow stash ready to cut, eat or package within two hours – and also, they last for up to 3 MONTHS! JOY!  Although, note to self: the truth is they’re not going to last out the day are they? 

If you fancy getting fancy with your marshies, replace the raspberry puree with any other juice or fruit you have on hand (just remember to strain out the seeds).  More tips beneath this recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups of caster sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raspberry puree (puree berries in a blender and strain through a sieve)
2 tablespoons powdered gelatine
1/2 cup icing sugar

Method

1. Line 30 x 20cm lamington pan with baking paper.
2. Pour the half cup of water into a cup and sprinkle in the powdered gelatine.  Stir to combine and allow to soak for at least 5 minutes.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the fruit puree with the caster sugar and stir on medium-low heat. 
4. When the strawberry and sugar mixture comes to a boil, add the gelatine mixture and stir to combine. Allow to boil for one minute and then remove from the heat.
5. Pour the mixture into a large metal bowl and whisk on high speed with either a stand or electric hand mixer.
6. Once all the steam has been released, the mixture will triple in size over 3-4 minutes.
7. When the mixture resembles meringue at the soft peak stage, using a spatula scrape the marshmallow into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
8. Allow to set at room temperature for at least 2 hours. (Do not cover and do not place in the fridge. At this stage the marshmallow is both setting and drying and any moisture trapped inside by refrigeration or covering will mean that the marshmallows start to weep).
9. When set, dust the top of the marshmallow with a tablespoon of icing sugar before upturning onto a chopping board.
10. Slowly peel the paper from the marshmallow. If it is set it will peel easily and the marshmallow will pull away from the paper and bounce back into shape.
11. Dust the rest of the marshmallow with sugar and cut into desired shapes (use small cute cookie cutters for something more fancy than squares) before dusting with remaining sugar.
12. These marshmallows will retain their creamy and smooth texture for up to 2 weeks and will keep for up to 3 months (!).

Other Marshmallow Recipes and Ideas

Another version of this recipe flavoured with cocoa and cinnamon can be found here.

To make other fruit flavours, puree fruit, straining them to remove the seeds. You can also replace the 1/2 cup of puree with other natural juices such as orange, apple, cranberry etc.  YUM!