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.


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Experimenting with Lakeland's Agar Agar (part one)

For those who haven't used or heard about it before, Agar Agar is a vegetarian gelatin substitute produced from a variety of seaweed vegetation. It can be used in a variety of dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan recipes as a stabilizing and thickening agent.

I have never used it before, heck I've barely used gelatin before, so it was time to have a play with new recipes.

I decided on giving panna cotta a try. It was MUCH easier than I thought.



This is the recipe I used:

Panna Cotta
360ml full fat milk
120ml whipping cream
2 tsp agar agar powder
2-3 tsp vanilla bean paste
Strawberry coulis (recipe further down)

And the method:

1. Put the milk, cream, agar agar powder and vanilla bean paste into a pan.
2. Heat the mixture over a medium heat until the agar agar powder has fully dissolved, stirring occasionally.
3. Heat to boiling point and let it bubble for a minute or two, then remove from the heat.
4. Let it stand for about ten minutes, then pour into 4 ramekin dishes or bowls.
5. When cool, refrigerate for 2-3 hours until set.
6. To release the panna cotta, run around the edge of it with a silicone spatula or sharp knife, place a plate upside down on top of the dish, and turn the plate and dish upside down to transfer the panna cotta on to the plate.

7. Pour the coulis around the panna cotta and serve cold.

Strawberry coulis
125ml water
125g caster sugar
300g hulled and halves strawberries

Method
1. Bring the water and caster sugar to the boil and stir, making sure the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add the strawberries and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the strawberries have softened.
3. Puree the mixture, and strain through a sieve.
4. Store the puree in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Looks yummy doesn't it? I could just eat the bit on that spoon. You know...just to test it....

 

Mmmmmmmmm!!!


A very easy recipe, but impressive- one that could be used to impress the in laws if the occasion required it!

And here's a sneak peek of experimenting with agar agar part 2!

Any guesses what I made this time??

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

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Review of Lakeland's Say It With Biscuits Kit

Instalment number two of this weeks' Lakeland product reviews! And this time I got to play with gingerbread dough and stamps!

 

This is the Say It With Biscuits Kit. Three silicone stamps, the wooden 'handle' that they fit on to for easy stamping, a cutter, recipe booklet and 6 very sweet gift boxes should you be able to bring yourself to give them away! It all comes packaged in a cute box so would make a great present for a baker.

 

I used my own gingerbread dough recipe, but the booklet does contain some lovely looking recipes. It includes a sable (basic) biscuit recipe, that you could easily flavour using a splash of vanilla or almond extract, or grated zest of lemon or orange for further biscuit flavours. There is also a ginger biscuit recipe, a chocolate one (that will definitely get tried in this house, chocoholics? Us?!), and recipes for oat and raisin, choc chip, and even a savoury cheese one. There are also ideas and recipes for filling the biscuits, should you wish to sandwich them together.  So definitely lots of ideas to get you started!

 

If you have your own favourite biscuit recipe you could also use that of course, but it needs to be a dough which can firm up when chilled, so the pattern doesn't spread when baked. The instructions recommend chilling the dough before baking, but I'd also recommend chilling after cutting the biscuits for at least 20 minutes, especially if you are re-rolling the scraps of dough after the initial lot of cutting, as the warmth of your hands will warm the dough up too.

 

Using the stampers is easy. They fit snugly onto the wooden handle, and you can use this to push the stamper into the dough. I would say you need to push it quite firmly into the dough to make a good deep imprint. You need to bake them for the time according to the recipe, so check that for details.

 

 

 

You can see I have two sizes of biscuits on the picture above. The larger ones are made using the cookie cutter that comes with the kit, but I also had a go with a smaller round cutter I have to see what it would look like. I think they both look great. And if you were feeling generous and were going to give more than one away as a gift, I think the mixture of sizes would look lovely in a kilner jar with a ribbon tied around it.

 

 

 

And if you fancy a bit of extra indulgence, how about sandwiching two together with milk chocolate ganache? Mmmmmmm!!

 

I haven't tried it yet, but I would also imagine that you could use these stampers with sugarpaste to make toppers for cupcakes, you would probably just need to add a smear of vegetable fat like Trex to the silicone stamper before using it to make sure it didn't stick.

 

The stampers have three different patterns: hearts, flowers and a Made For You stamp. They could be used on their own or together, and would make a good gift for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and birthdays....and many other occasions in between. If you like to make homemade gifts and are handy in the kitchen, this could be a good investment for you. With so many variations of flavours, stampers, shapes, and how you could package them you could produce a different gift every time!

 

You can buy the kit here.

 

Although I was given the kit for free to review, all the views and opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

www.mariesbakehouse.co.uk

 

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