This week we've asked Boutique Bake's Catherine Buggy for seven delicious recipes that you can make with the kids this Christmas.
"Marshmallows have always been one of my favourite sweets, and bring back lovely memories of when I was younger, toasting them over the BBQ during the summer holidays.
This recipe is really simple and quick to put together, and once you’ve tried it, you won’t be going back to store bought marshmallows! Homemade marshmallows are a really lovely sweet to serve at a party and also make a lovely gift, packaged up with some brown paper."
Top Tip: If you have marshmallows left over from your batch, they're really delicious chopped up and stirred through one of our Boutique Bake brownie mixes!
Ingredients:
- 12g powdered gelatine / or 4 leaves of gelatine (available from the home baking section in most supermarkets)
- 420g caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 30g icing sugar, to coat
- 30g cornflour, to coat
- Toppings (optional): 50g chopped pistachios, 100g melted dark chocolate, 50g coconut flakes
Method
- Line a 20cm/8-inch square tin with baking parchment.
- Sift the icing sugar and cornflour together, and sprinkle a little over the base of the tin.
- Put the gelatine in a bowl with 100ml cold water to dissolve and soften.
- Put the caster sugar in a saucepan with 150ml water.
- Boil the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, then reduce the heat and simmer, add a sugar thermometer, and boil until it reaches 113C/235F. This should take approx. 15-20 minutes.
- At this temperature the sugar has reached ‘soft-ball stage’, if you do not have a sugar thermometer, here is how to check:
Using a spoon carefully take a small drop of sugar syrup and drop into a cup of cold water. The syrup should form a soft, sticky ball that can be flattened when removed from the water. Now you know its ready!
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, start to blend the softened gelatine mixture and add in the vanilla extract
- Next, gradually start to pour in the sugar syrup (be very careful to do this slowly as the mixture will be extremely hot!)
- Once you've added all the syrup, keep beating the mixture until nice and thick.
- Pour into your prepared tin and leave at room temperature to set for a minimum of 2-3 hrs (do not chill in the fridge)
- When set, dust a sheet of parchment paper with some of the cornflour-icing sugar mixture and turn the marshmallows out onto it.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the marshmallows into chunky squares, and then sprinkle with more of the icing mixture to coat all over.
- Lastly, melt your chocolate ready for dipping and coat with your topping of choice
- Allow the chocolate topping to set completely before devouring!
