Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 1)

[nightscotsman]

Lavender is actually a traditional marshmallow flavor in France. You could try to find a food-grade extract, but another method would be to heat the sugar and water for the syrup with some dried lavender (maybe a couple tablespoons for the half recipe) and let it steep for awhile. Strain out the flowers, add the corn syrup and proceed with recipe.

[Patrick S]

That's interesting. I'll definitely be trying lavender next time.

[Wendy DeBord]

When you flavor using lavender you have to taste your infusion to see if it's right, potent enough. I find the scent over the pot is far stronger then the taste...............also walk far away from your pot as you taste so your nose isn't fooled by the scent.

[DiH]

Those Williams Sonoma's put me in an adventurous mood to try my hand at some peppermint marshmallows...

Extremely tasty little things... although next time I'll stick to one color tho' and use a smaller pan.

Di

Edited in an attempt to replace crappy colors.

Edited November 25, 2004 by DiH (log)

[JSkilling]

They are dark on my screen as well so we'll just have to imagine them as pale as the WS ones.... Did you just use extract to flavor the batch? And then did you swirl the color in after you put them in the pan or while they were on their final spin in the mixer?

[DiH]

They are dark on my screen as well so we'll just have to imagine them as pale as the WS ones....  Did you just use extract to flavor the batch?  And then did you swirl the color in after you put them in the pan or while they were on their final spin in the mixer?

←

Yes, humor me. hehehe

I made a basic Vanilla marshmallow, then when almost finished whipping I scooped out 2 small portions to which I added color and about 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract and finished the whipping process. Why yes, there was a wee bit of noise from three mixers going at once. I spread the vanilla batch into the pan as usual and randomly dropped splotches of the colored mixtures helter-skelter all over the top, "marbling" them in just as you would a cake.

Note: Work fast, this sh** sets up fast!

Di

Edited November 25, 2004 by DiH (log)

[hazardnc]

My first attempt at nigthscotsman's recipe for vanilla marshmallows is colling now. In my fridge, I am defrosting a package of blackberry puree and plan to use it in lieu of the strawberry. My Latin food market has a wide selection of fruit purees - I think I will try passionfruit too.

BTW - to Nightscotsman. Here is a recipe for Modjeskas that I found of Recipesource.com As suggested previously, there caramel is poured onto a slab, cooled and then cut into pieces and wrapped around the marshmallows. Modjeskas

Also, on Food Finds, they will air the episode featuring Bauer's Candies (they make Modjeskas) on December 17 at 1:30PM EST

Edited November 26, 2004 by hazardnc (log)

[bluechefk]

i may have missed this earlier in the thread - and forgive me if i did - but what is the sheet gelatin equivalent to gelatin in packages, i.e. how many sheets of gelatin equals one package of gelatin? i'm desperate to try out these marshmallows asap :-)

thanks - kerry

[Patrick S]

I think its a weight-for-weight substitution, so the envelope-to-sheet conversion will depend on the weight of the sheets you're using. An envelope of Know gelatine is 7 grams. According to the entry for gelatin on Epicurious food lover's companion, 4 leafs are equal to one envelope.

EDIT TO ADD: Thanks for the head's-up, hazardnc. I'm very interested to see how Bauer's does it.

Jskilling, I like the idea of a caramel-marshmallow roulade. The idea has grown on me.

I picked out the 15 or so best Modjeskas to take to my family's thanksgiving get together. Everyone agreed that they were good knock-offs of the Bauer's Modjeska's. I was afraid the caramel would be too chewey, but it turned out to be melt-in-mouth after a couple days.

Edited November 27, 2004 by Patrick S (log)

[lemon curd]

I printed out nightscotsman's recipe a while back and finally got around to making my batches today. First one was chocolate, second was vanilla and third was peppermint (thanks to Toliver for the peppermint suggestion).

My first batch did not get very fluffy. From reading completely through this entire thread I suspect I may not have done a proper sheet gelatin conversion. I used 3 sheets per 1 envelope but I think it might have been too much as my sheets are very long. Another explanation might be that my cocoa powder had too high of a fat content. I used 1/3 cup of Cacao Barry Extra Brute.

My second and third batches (both 1/2 batches) were much more successful. I switched to packaged gelatin for both and also did a soft ball test in addition to using my thermometer. I discovered that 240 deg F on my thermometer is not soft ball stage. I needed to go closer to 246 deg F.

I slightly overwhipped the second batch as it was a bit thicker than I expected when removed it from the mixing bowl. It didn’t quite have the “pillowy” look of Patrick S’s batch, but was still good.

I backed off on the whipping time for my third batch (about 6 mins as it was a 1/2 recipe) and the texture was much better. BTW I used about 1/16 tsp of peppermint extract for the 1/2 batch and added a bit of green food colouring. I was extremely (!) pleased with the results. I’ll let them sit overnight and experiment with cutting them into shapes tomorrow.

I will be making the peppermint batch again next weekend to bring to the Vancouver Canada egullet Christmas cookie exchange. They will be awesome with hot chocolate as suggested by Toliver.

Thanks nightscotsman for the recipe!!

[Tepee]

I've a question for those of you who have used candy molds to fill marshmallows. Do the molds have to be oiled, and, if so, what do you grease the molds with - oil or shortening? TIA!

[Joni]

I made peppermint ones...they were great right when I made them, but the next day it seemed like th peppermint flavor had evaporated! I used probably 1/4 tsp in half a batch.

Re: swirling the colors...has anyone put the red food coloring right on top and then swirl them or how do you do this?

[CanadianBakin']

Joni - for a half batch I used 1 tsp vanilla & 1 tsp peppermint extract. The flavour held up well in hot chocolate but was a bit strong if you were just eating them straight.

[nightscotsman]

I've a question for those of you who have used candy molds to fill marshmallows. Do the molds have to be oiled, and, if so, what do you grease the molds with - oil or shortening? TIA!

←

I used silicone molds sprayed lightly with flavorless baking spray. No sticking at all.

[amyd]

Re: swirling the colors...has anyone put the red food coloring right on top and then swirl them or how do you do this?

←

I did exactly that. Put a few drops of food coloring and swirl with a toothpick as you are putting the marshmallows into the sheet pan. For an extra effect, I added coloring to the starch/sugar mixture. It made the swirls a little bit softer and filled in any swirls that I didn't really like.

[Joni]

Re: swirling the colors...has anyone put the red food coloring right on top and then swirl them or how do you do this?

←

I did exactly that. Put a few drops of food coloring and swirl with a toothpick as you are putting the marshmallows into the sheet pan. For an extra effect, I added coloring to the starch/sugar mixture. It made the swirls a little bit softer and filled in any swirls that I didn't really like.

←

Amy..so you put a little bit of the marshmallow into the pan, add some food coloring, put more on top? Or put the food coloring into the bowl and swirl? Sorry, am not quite understanding! Also read that Martha Stewart has it in her Dec magazine, but someone on Chowhound or somewhere said it was impossible todo..

[Tepee]

I just did a swirl last night, by mixing a bowl of red and a bowl of green marshmallow fresh from the mixer. Then I placed blobs of the 2 colors randomly on my layer of white colored lychee-flavored marshmallow. The fun part is the swirling; it was such fun doing it that I asked my 10-year old to have a go at it.

Please excuse the imperfect image.

Since I didn't see a reply to my prior question above in time, I just went ahead and do a sheet thing, and this morning, cut it into hearts. Thanks, Neil, for your reply; yup, I think it's high time I went and got a can of baking spray.

Edited December 9, 2004 by Tepee (log)

[Megaroo]

I just wanted to say that I made Neil's recipe for marshmellows yesterday and they are FABULOUS! Now I wonder why people eat Kraft! Anyways, mine weren't quite as pillowy (although they were soft and fluffy) so I'm wondering what I can do to make them even more fluffy... (Oh, and my father, the one who will only eat cakes frosted with Seven Minute Frosting, said that they were his new favorite treat since they taste like his special frosting)...

[amyd]

[Wendy DeBord]

Some oils/flavorings smell much stronger then they taste, peppermint is one of those. So when your using them you have to rely on tasting it away from the aroma.

[Patrick S]

Nice looking marshmallows, Teepee.

[Joni]

Teepee.. wonderful marshmallows..what "instrument" did you use to swirl them?

Also, I was wondering on the chocolates marshmallows, if folding in beated egg whites would help "fluff" them....

[Tepee]

Teepee..  wonderful marshmallows..what "instrument" did you use to swirl them?

Thanks, Patrick and Joni. BTW, Patrick, I've been meaning to tell you I loved your pics, especially the mixer pictures...so surreal, and Jack-Jack looked so pleased!

Joni, anything goes when it comes to swirling. I've used both butter knife and spoon before. Have a go at it!

[achevres]

Last night I finally had time to make the marshmallows, following Nightscotsman's recipe. Thank you nightscotsman. (I do have a question--what made you want to change the Martha Stewart recipe and what was your reasoning? I'm curious about the thought process of a real pastry chef ).

I have been wanting to make them, after reading this thread and also seeing Martha Stewart make them and on the Food Channel's Food Finds they showed Pete, of Pete's Gourmet, making them. From him I got the tip to pour the syrup into the bowl of gelatin with the whip going and then cover the the mixer bowl in the front and sides with plastic wrap before cranking it up to high. No mess at all.

I made vanilla and cinammon. I made the cinammon ones with 1 1/2 ts cassia cinammon. They are very tasty, but I may go to 2 ts next time. These were a little firmer because I only had a little over 1 cup of corn syrup (not 1 1/4 c), but they were still good.

I felt like a real candy maker cutting the the marshmallows this morning. It was a lot easier to cut them than I had anticipated. I used my Wustof meat slicer knife, sprayed with Pam at the beginning. I used a 9 x 13 pan for one batch and a 9 x 12 roasting pan for the other (higher cubes). Also, I blotted the extra Pam from the foil side of the marshmallow slab with a paper towel.

Someone posted earlier not to tell the impressed people how easy they are to make...they are easy! I had my new digital camera ready for pictures, but they really looked just as good as the other white ones posted earlier.

If I have more time I'll try the strawberry and chocolate ones next and also I would love to dip them in chocolate.

[CanadianBakin']

Has anyone tried making these with a liqueur? I have a bottle of creme de menthe in my basement collecting dust.

Edited December 16, 2004 by CanadianBakin' (log)