Experimenting with Lakeland's agar agar (part two)

Well, after the success of the panna cotta recipe, I decided to give marshmallows a go! I've wanted to make these for ages, so this was the perfect excuse. Like the panna cotta, I thought it was going to be a difficult process and take a long time, but quite the opposite was true.

 

Homemade marshmallows are quite unlike ones that you buy in the shops. Soft, fluffy squidgy, melt-in-the-mouth clouds of sweet vanilla-y yumminess. I don't think I'd describe shop bought ones in the same way!

 

 

So here's the recipe:

 

Homemade marshmallows

3 egg whites (I used Two Chicks)

250g sugar

100ml water

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp agar agar powder

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

icing sugar

pink food colouring

 

 

Method

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the agar agar powder in the water.

2. Pour this into a saucepan, with the sugar and honey and warm to a medium to high heat until the syrup mixture has reached 121 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites until they are firm.

4. Add the food colouring and the vanilla bean paste.

5. When the syrup is ready, pour it slowly into the egg whites and continue to whisk.

6. Line an 8" x 8" baking tin with parchment paper, and pour the marshmallow mixture in the prepared tin and use a spatula to spread it.

7. Allow it to dry for 10 hours. It's usable after a couple of hours, but will firm up more if you leave it for longer.

8. Cut it into squares and roll in the icing sugar.

 

I found that it was better if I allowed the icing sugar to dry off a bit, and then rolled again in the icing sugar.

 

Looks yummy doesn't it? I have to admit, it is quite sticky so if you were thinking of giving it as a gift, you might need to roll it in the sugar again, or even pack it in layers of sugared parchment paper.

And if you think squares are a bit on the boring side, how about cutting shapes instead?

I know, almost too cute to eat right? Almost....

You can buy agar agar from Lakeland here.

I was given the agar agar product to use by Lakeland, but all views are my own.


www.mariesbakehouse.co.uk

www.facebook.com/MariesBakehouse