Sunday, February 12, 2012

Week 7 - Marshmallows (and more...)


This week I had planned on making marshmallows. Then my husband mentioned graham crackers, and that seemed like good idea. THEN I tried some amazing chocolate pudding from a recipe by Stella at Brave Tart. It is so delicious! (Seriously go here and make it) So I decided to make s'more pie. This weekend was just a tad ambitious. But it has been fun!

So lets dive in!

Marshmallows

I hate marshmallows. I've never really liked them unless they were burnt to a crisp and smooshed with some chocolate. For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to make them. I am so glad I did! These mallows are delicious! I was eating the goop by the spoon full. They are springy and fluffy and don't have that funny after taste like Jet Puffed. So this is a recipe worth trying if you hate marshmallows or if you consider yourself a marshmallow aficionado.


What You'll Need:
3 Envelopes Gelatin
4 oz Cold Water
4 oz Hot Water
454 g Granulated Sugar
6 oz Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites (or reconstituted powdered egg whites if you are nervous about raw eggs)
1 tsp Vanilla
30g Powdered Sugar
30g Cornstarch

Bloom your gelatin in the cold water

While that is getting happy combine your hot water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt over medium heat. Stir until dissolved then increase the heat to high and boil until the mixture reaches 240°.

Pour your sugar mixture over the gelatin and stir until gelatin is dissolved.

Then beat on high until the mixture is thick and fluffy and white. It should triple in volume. You ALMOST have marshmallows!

In a separate bowl with clean beaters whip your egg whites until they form stiff peaks. (Well it is possible to do this by hand if you don't have 2 mixers but I definitely don't recommend it. I suggest beating the sugar mix in a stand mixer and the egg whites with a hand mixer.)

Add your egg whites and vanilla to your sugar mix and beat on low until just combined.

Spray a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour your marshmallow in.

Combine your cornstarch and powdered sugar and dust over the top.

I have also heard of people putting home made marshmallow mixes into piping bags and making long round tubes to cut up. Then they look more like "traditional" marshmallows.

Put the pan uncovered in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Then cut up and enjoy!

These should keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 1 week.


Graham Crackers

You can't make marshmallows without graham crackers. Enough said!

What You'll need:
150g Almond Flour
75g Sorghum Flour
75g Sweet Rice Flour
75g Corn starch
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
176g Dark Brown Sugar (or 159g Granulated Sugar and 17g Molasses (about 1 Tbsp) if you are a ditz and forget to put dark brown sugar on the grocery list)
6g Baking Soda
4g Salt
7 Tbsp Butter (cut into 1/4 slices and frozen, cut first freeze after.)
1/3c honey (I broke the mold and used maple syrup, it was a good idea)
5 Tbsp Milk
2 Tbsp Vanilla

Combine your flours,xanthan gum, sugar (or sugar and molasses), baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until everything is very well combined.

Then add your butter cubes and pulse until your mix is fully incorporated. It will look almost like corn meal.

Add your honey, milk, and vanilla then pulse until the dough just comes together. It will be super duper sticky.

Pour your dough onto some plastic wrap and manipulate it to form a cylinder about 1" thick. Chill your dough for at least 3 hours, but I suggest over night.

Unwrap your cooled dough and put it on a well floured (flour with corn starch or powdered sugar) surface or parchment paper. Roll out, flouring liberally, to 1/8" thick. Then cut lines in your dough to the desired size. At this point I should have chilled the dough again so I could move the crackers and spread them out a little. Mine came out all mushed together so I had to recut them while they were warm.

Preheat your oven to 350°

Bake for 15-20min or until firm.

Let cool and top with marshmallows and chocolate...

OR

Make a simple graham cracker crust (1/2c graham 2 Tbsp butter). Tamp down in a pie plate. Bake at 530° for 10min. Top with half of this pudding. Chill for a few hours. Then top with marshmallows (I poured the marshmallows on the top of the pie instead of into a baking dish). Chill for a few hours. Flambe the top and you have s'more pie!

Hope you enjoy ALL the recipes!

Happy eating!
Tori



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