Raspberry marshmallows
I absolutely adore marshmallows and every chance I get to sneak a marshmallow in a dessert I take it. I have thinking about making my own marshmallows for a while now. I always used store bought and they are fine but I always wondered what would they taste like if they were home made.
I had this perception that making marshmallows is difficult and not worth the effort because they are so easily bought. I asked myself why go thorough all the fuss and why not just buy them. After making this recipe my perception is completely changed and I'm probably not going to buy them anymore, because the home made version is so deliciously easy. If you ever made an Italian meringue than you have already made 2/3 of a marshmallow, the only thing that separates an Italian meringue from a marshmallow is the addition of the gelatin and that's all.
The other advantage of home made marshmallows, the first being the flavor, is that you know exactly what you put in them and you avoid any additives that are added to the store bought versions.
The third advantage is the flavoring, you can make almost any kind of flavored marshmallows that you'd like. I chose to incorporate a seedless raspberry jam (70% raspberry) because the marshmallows are sweet and the jam gives the mixture some acidity and a nice background flavor. You can add any jam of your choice just make sure it has a sufficient fruit content for the flavor to stand out.
There are so many recipes out there on making marshmallows but I chose to follow a recipe from chef eddy, his recipes are great and reliable. His web page served as my inspiration for weeks now and I can't wait to make more of his desserts.
This recipe calls for inverted sugar, this is basically a thick sugar syrup that has the consistency of honey. It controls crystallization and creates a smoother mouth fill in the products. I never made this sugar syrup before and I can say that it is easy to make and requires just a few ingredients. It can be kept in the fridge for 6 months and you can use it in ganache, jellies, fudges, taffies, caramels, ice creams or sorbets.
I adopted chef eddy's idea of paring a marshmallow with a chocolate sable (French butter cookies, sable meaning "sand") and coating/dipping it into tempered chocolate. The result is mind-blowing, the crunch of the chocolate and the soft marshmallow go perfectly together and the chocolate sable offers some additional texture and cocoa flavor. For dipping I used dark chocolate that has a note of bitterness and balances the sweetness of the marshmallow. Give the recipe a try and I can almost guarantee that you won't be disappointed.
For the raspberry marshmallow:
Making the chocolate sable:
Leave the marshmallow to sit at room temperature several hours or overnight until it is not sticky at the top. Cut into cubes and set aside.
Dipping the marshmallows:
Temper the chocolate:
Take a piece of marshmallow and dip it in the chocolate or completely coat it. Take out and place on the acetate sheet with the desired motive or on a parchment paper. Do this for all of the marshmallow cubes. Place them in a cool dry place and wait for the chocolate to completely set (1 hour).
Store the marshmallows in an airtight container and enjoy.
I had this perception that making marshmallows is difficult and not worth the effort because they are so easily bought. I asked myself why go thorough all the fuss and why not just buy them. After making this recipe my perception is completely changed and I'm probably not going to buy them anymore, because the home made version is so deliciously easy. If you ever made an Italian meringue than you have already made 2/3 of a marshmallow, the only thing that separates an Italian meringue from a marshmallow is the addition of the gelatin and that's all.
The other advantage of home made marshmallows, the first being the flavor, is that you know exactly what you put in them and you avoid any additives that are added to the store bought versions.
The third advantage is the flavoring, you can make almost any kind of flavored marshmallows that you'd like. I chose to incorporate a seedless raspberry jam (70% raspberry) because the marshmallows are sweet and the jam gives the mixture some acidity and a nice background flavor. You can add any jam of your choice just make sure it has a sufficient fruit content for the flavor to stand out.
There are so many recipes out there on making marshmallows but I chose to follow a recipe from chef eddy, his recipes are great and reliable. His web page served as my inspiration for weeks now and I can't wait to make more of his desserts.
This recipe calls for inverted sugar, this is basically a thick sugar syrup that has the consistency of honey. It controls crystallization and creates a smoother mouth fill in the products. I never made this sugar syrup before and I can say that it is easy to make and requires just a few ingredients. It can be kept in the fridge for 6 months and you can use it in ganache, jellies, fudges, taffies, caramels, ice creams or sorbets.
I adopted chef eddy's idea of paring a marshmallow with a chocolate sable (French butter cookies, sable meaning "sand") and coating/dipping it into tempered chocolate. The result is mind-blowing, the crunch of the chocolate and the soft marshmallow go perfectly together and the chocolate sable offers some additional texture and cocoa flavor. For dipping I used dark chocolate that has a note of bitterness and balances the sweetness of the marshmallow. Give the recipe a try and I can almost guarantee that you won't be disappointed.
Raspberry marshmallows
(Makes 40 medium pieces)
Time:
Preparation: 2 hours
Cooking: 45min
Baking: 10min
Coating: 1 hour
For the chocolate sable:
- 125g room temperature butter
- 67g icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 20g almond flour
- 30g cocoa powder
- 135g all-purpose flour
- 333g white granulated sugar
- 160g water
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 90g room temperature egg whites
- 270g granulated white sugar
- 60g inverted sugar
- 90g water
- 5 sheets of gelatin
- 30g raspberry jam
- 300g dark chocolate
- transfer sheets (optional)
Making the inverted sugar:
If you don't feel like making Inverted sugar you can substitute it with corn syrup or honey but I can't guarantee the same result.
Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a non-reactive sauce pan and bring to the boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, brush away the sugar crystals that have formed at the edges of a sauce pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Continue doing this to prevent the crystallization of the sugar. Do not worry, any additional water that drips down the sauce pan will not affect the final product. On a medium heat without stirring cook the sugar until it reaches 114°C (236°F). Remove from heat and cover with a lid, let it cool to room temperature. Pour the thick syrup (do not scrape the edges) in an air tight container and store in the fridge.
In a bowl of your electric or hand mixer (paddle attachment), mix the butter until light, add the sugar and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the egg and mix until well combined. Add the almond flour, sift together cocoa powder and flour and add to the mixture in one addition. Mix just until combined.
Place the dough on cling film and shape in a disk, cover with more foil and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
Flour the rolling pin and roll the dough directly on a parchment paper or silpat to about 2mm thick. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 8-10 minutes or until it looks dry. Take out of the oven and cool slightly, cut the sable while still warm to the preferred dimensions. I cut mine to a square to fit my square cake tin. Set aside to fully cool.
Making the raspberry marshmallow:
Place the egg whites in a bowl of your electric or hand mixer fitted with a whip attachment and set aside. Place the gelatin in a bowl of cold water and leave to soak. In a small sauce pan bring the sugar, invert sugar and water to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, brush away the sugar crystals that have formed at the edges of a sauce pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Continue doing this to prevent the crystallization of the sugar. At 115°C (240°F) start whipping the egg whites on medium speed. Boil the sugar syrup to 130°C (265°F), ensure that the egg whites do not whip over the soft peaks before the syrup reaches this temperature.
Whip the egg whites on high speed and slowly pour the hot sugar syrup in a steady stream. While whipping remove the gelatin from the water and squeeze the excess water, place it into a small sauce pan and melt over low heat. Add the melted gelatin to the hot egg whites and whip to combine. Add the raspberry jam. When the mixture is lukewarm remove from the machine and spread it out over the baked chocolate sable.
Dipping the marshmallows:
Temper the chocolate:
Chop 225 grams of dark chocolate into medium sized pieces, put in the heat-proof bowl and set aside. Chop the remaining 75 grams of the chocolate in tiny pieces and set aside.Put some water in a pot and heat gently to a simmer. Place the bowl with 225 grams chocolate on top of the pot, the water should not touch the bowl. When the chocolate starts to melt, stir and check the temperature. Keep checking the temperature until it reaches 45-48°C (113-118°F). When the chocolate reaches the right temperature take the bowl of the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. The temperature should drop. Stir the chocolate gently to cool until it reaches 27°C (81°F). This may take a while, depending on the room temperature. When the chocolate is cool enough place the bowl back on the pot of simmering water and heat back to 30-31°C (88-90°F).
Take a piece of marshmallow and dip it in the chocolate or completely coat it. Take out and place on the acetate sheet with the desired motive or on a parchment paper. Do this for all of the marshmallow cubes. Place them in a cool dry place and wait for the chocolate to completely set (1 hour).
Store the marshmallows in an airtight container and enjoy.
Comments
Post a Comment