Honey Marshmallows

Takes 15 minutes to prep / 20-30 minutes to make / 2 hours to set + can be left overnight. Makes 20 large marshmallows, will keep for 1 week in an airtight container.

Special equipment - Stand mixer with whisk attachment OR hand held electric whisks and a sugar thermometer.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 egg whites + 2 Tbsp caster sugar
• 5 sheets of gelatine
• 100g runny honey (Seaside, Starflower, Orchard or Summer)
• 180g caster sugar
• 100ml water
• 75g icing sugar
• 50g cornflour
• Veg oil for greasing tin and knife when cutting

First line a deep tin with baking parchment roughly 25x25cm, brush with a thin layer of vegetable oil.

Place the sheets of gelatine in a bowl of cold water, whilst these are soaking place the honey, caster sugar & water in a small pan over a medium heat. Swirl the pan of sugar gently to combine, avoid stirring with a spoon as this can cause the sugar to crystallise.

Whilst the sugar is melting, you need to start whipping your egg whites to stiff peak consistency. Combine egg whites and 2 tbsp caster sugar, whisk on a high speed till tripled in volume, thick and a peak holds when you remove the whisk.

Once the sugar has melted, and your egg whites are whipped ,increase the heat of the syrup till the liquid is rapidly boiling. It will take around 5 minutes for the sugar to reach the correct temperature 121-130c (also known as Hard Ball). Keep checking the temperature with your thermometer.

When the sugar syrup has reached temperature, take it off the heat. Turn your mixer back to a slow speed & start to slowly drizzle the hot liquid down the side of the bowl of whipped egg whites, gradually increase the flow & whisk speed. Once all the syrup has gone, turn the speed onto high.

Whilst the mallow is whipping, squeeze your gelatine sheets out of any excess water, place in a small pan on a very gentle heat and melt, this only takes 30 seconds. Decrease the speed on the mixer and pour the melted gelatine into the whipping mallow. Increase speed again and whip until glossy & the side of the bowl has cooled to body temp (approx 4-6 minutes).

You don’t want to leave the mallow to sit for too long as it will start to set, take a spatula and scoop all the mallow into your lined tin. Then use the back of the spatula to level & smooth the surface.

Leave to set for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight. Check they have set by pulling the paper up and seeing if the mallow holds its shape, they should be firm & bouncy. Now comes the sticky, slightly messy cutting time! It’s best to embrace the mess.

Combine the cornflour and icing sugar in a bowl, using a sieve, dust a layer over a chopping board. Now flip your mallow out onto the board, gently peel off the greaseproof paper. Then dust with a layer of the sugary mix. Take a large knife & use a piece of kitchen towel lightly greased with vegetable oil, this makes a huge difference when cutting! Slice your mallow into squares, I like to make them chunky roughly 5x5cm but you can make them any size you like. Dust each mallow with the icing sugar mix, till fully covered. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Author: @lucyrosetteturnbull

Imagery: @florediamant