Blueberry Marshmallows

I was first inspired to have a go at making marshmallows while experimenting with the recipe for Rocky Road. Since then, I have now moved on to experimenting with the addition of different tastes and colours. This Blueberry marshmallow recipe is, I have to say one of the better ones. The colour is so striking and the flavour so beautifully balanced that it usually elicits a wow whenever anybody tries it for the first time.

Ingredients

300g caster sugar
2 tablespoons gelatin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100ml water
150 ml Blueberry Coulis

If making the coulis yourself
125g Blueberries
2tbsp Sugar
water

Directions

Prepare your blueberry coulis. Details on the recipe showing how to make it can be found on our Blueberry Coulis page.

Take 150ml of the Blueberry Coulis and add the gelatin to it. Stir it around, pour it into your mixer bowl and then let it stand for 15 minutes or so while you prepare the sugar syrup.

Line a 3cm-deep, 22.5cm x 22.5cm (base) dish with baking paper.

Combine sugar and 100ml water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir from time to time until the sugar dissolves before lowering the heat and allowing the syrup to simmer gently. Allow the syrup to simmer until it reaches the hard ball stage or around 125 degrees Celsius.

Once your syrup has reached the hard ball stage, start your mixer on a slow speed and drizzle the hot syrup slowly into the gelatine mix.

To prevent splashing, continue beating the mixture on a relatively low speed for four or five minutes until it starts to thicken before increasing to a medium / high speed for 6 to 10 minutes until it is very thick.

Add the vanilla and beat for another minute.

Spread into prepared dish and smooth top. Set aside for a couple of hours or so until set.

Dust a cutting board with icing sugar; lift the marshmallow out of the dish and onto a board before removing the baking paper.

Cut marshmallow into 25 squares. Wetting the knife blade can help prevent it sticking too much. Dust all sides of the marshmallow with icing sugar to stop them sticking together.

It is ready to serve immediately or can be kept in an air tight container for up to a week however I think it is far better if it is dipped in chocolate first.

To do this, simply melt your chocolate and drop the marshmallow into it. Use a fork to make sure all sides are covered before setting the marshmallows aside to allow the chocolate to set.

Note: Moisture content is all important in this process. The act of taking the sugar syrup to the hard ball stage reduces its moisture content so that when it is beaten together with the coulis you get nice light fluffy marshmallows. If you add too much water in the coulis you will end up with damp watery marshmallow, too little and you’ll produce dense dry marshmallow similar to the bland shop bought stuff.

Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 3 hours
Yield: 25 Chocolate Coated Blueberry Marshmallows
Recipe By Martin Hudson , Flavoursome Delights