Marshmallows
Easy to make and fun to eat!
Preparation time
20 minutes
What you need
1 cup cold water
4½ teaspoons loose gelatine powder (14g)
2 cups sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt Icing sugar to dust the pan
Icing sugar to roll the marshmallows in
Optional – colourings and flavourings e.g rose water, peppermint, strawberry essence
Method
Sprinkle the gelatine on top of ½ cup of the cold water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Stir lightly with a fork. Let it ‘bloom’ for at least 5 minutes, it will be very thick.
Meanwhile, heat the sugar and the remaining ½ cup of water in a medium-sized saucepan until the sugar is dissolved. Add the dissolved gelatine to the sugar syrup, using a spatula to get every bit of gelatine out of the bowl.
Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (It will get foamy and you can’t stir down the bubbles).
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit until lukewarm (about 20 to 25 minutes).
Add vanilla and salt and pour into the bowl of mixer. Beat on high speed until thick and tripled in volume – about 7 to 8 minutes in a mixer or about 10 minutes with a hand beater.
While it is beating, grease a 20 x 30 cm pan and dust it with icing sugar. When the marshmallow mixture has finished whipping, scrape it into the prepared pan and use a wet spatula to smooth the top.
Allow to set until cold, about 4 hours at room temperature or less if placed in the fridge.
Cut into squares with a knife dipped in water between each cut.
Roll the marshmallow cubes in the icing sugar and shake off excess. Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks (if they last that long!)