Kitchen Chronicles

There is nothing like a squidgy, fluffy, soft and bouncy pink marshmallow.
Really, nothing can compare.

Floating in hot chocolate, toasted to a crisp and gooey mess in front of the fire, or simply stuffed into your mouth four at a time, they are one of my all time favourite sweeties.

And I think they are a wonderful pressie to take to a friends house, a brilliant confection to have in your home at this time of the year - and a perfect stocking filler for next month.

Go, on be brave, have a go at cooking them and discover the love that is a gentle, bouncy rose pink mallow.



MARSHMALLOWS

2 tablespoons of cornflour
2 tablespoons of icing sugar
125ml water
1oz/25g powdered gelatine (about two sachets)
1lb 2oz/500g granulated sugar
2 eggs whites
Pink food colouring



1. Sift the icing sugar and cornflour together into a small bowl.
2. Rub a shallow cake tin of about 20x20cm with a few drops of vegetable oil and shake a little of the icing sugar mixture around the tin to coat the base and sides.
3.Heat the water until hand hot and then sprinkle the gelatine over the top. Stir until all of the gelatine has dissolved.
4. Put the sugar into a medium-sized saucepan with 250ml of water. Warm over a low heat, stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved, then place a sugar thermometer in the pan and raise the heat, allowing the mixture to boil fiercely without stirring until the thermometer reads 122°C. Remove from the heat and pour gelatine mixture into the hot sugar syrup, stirring until everything is well blended.
5. Pour the egg whites into the large bowl of a mixer and beat until stiff. With the mixer going at a low speed, slowly pour in the sugar mixture in a steady, gentle trickle. After you’ve added all of the syrup, leave the machine to carry on beating until the mixture turns really thick and bulky but is still pourable – when you lift up the beater, it should leave a ribbon trail of the mixture on the surface which takes a few seconds to sink back down into the mix.
6. Pour the marshmallow into the prepared tin. Leave to set in a cool place (do not refrigerate) for an hour or two.
7. Dust a chopping board with the rest of the cornflour and icing sugar mixture. Coat a knife with a little oil. Carefully ease the marshmallow out of the tin onto the board, helping it out where necessary with the knife. Make sure all of the surfaces of the marshmallow are entirely dusted with the icing sugar mixture. Cut the marshmallows into squares, oiling and dusting the knife as needed. Store in an airtight tin lined with baking parchment.


(You can see Jacqueline's hands here as she made these lovely babies in a Cookery Lesson with me.)