“[They’re] So Fluffly, I’m Going to Die!”
Homemade Marshmallows?! YES.
I was watching Giada on the food network (my second favorite next to Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa..how I dream of her life…mostly her home), but anyway, Giada made orange marshmallows from scratch. Looked easy enough…so i tried it!
Adapted from Giada at Home:
Hardware: Stand mixer, candy thermometer
Ingredients:
Butter to grease pan
Powdered sugar for dusting
1/2 Cup water + 1/4 Cup water
3 Tbs. unflavored gelatin (3 packets)
2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup evaporated milk
1 Large orange, zested
1 Tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
Orange decorating sugar
Directions:
1. Butter a 9 x 9 inch baking pan, dust liberally with powdered sugar. Get those corners! Its ok to have excess left for this one.
2. Pour 1/2 Cup water into bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachement. Sprinkle gelatin over the water and let sit for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a 3 quart saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk and 1/4 Cup water. Stir over LOW heat until sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally until a candy thermometer inserted reads 240 F. It will bubble and rise. This will take about 15 minutes. Don’t worry that the mixture is turning brown, the marshmallow will still be white at the end!
4. Once the syrup comes to 240 F, carefully pour it over the gelatin in the stand mixer. Mix on low until incorporated, then increase speed to high. Beat until thick, fluffy, and has increased 3x in volume. This should take a good 10 minutes or more. Zest orange over mixture so the juices from zesting also fall into the marshmallow. Add vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
5. Using a spatula, scrape into prepared pan and smooth out the top a bit. Sprinkle the orange decorating sugar evenly over the top and let it set for at least 7 hours.
6. Once set, prepare a surface dusted with powdered sugar. Remove the marshmallow in one full piece. It should pull out of the pan easily since you have powdered the pan before. Using scissors dipped in powdered sugar, cut the marshmallow. Don’t try to use a knife because it will stick. De-pan the marshmallow and use scissors to cut them into desired pieces. Dip the side of the pieces into the powdered the sugar to keep them from sticking to each other.
Viola! Home made marshmallows - who knew?
Tip #1: You can experiment with different tastes; however, I added 1/4 Tsp. of almond extract and felt it was too strong. Next time, I will just make vanilla marshmallows - perhaps dipped in graham cracker pieces and chocolate! This shall be my next baking endeavor! Get excited.
