My husband and three year old made these marshmallows by David Lebovitz a few weeks ago. He has made them in the past and they are delicious! Our three year old loves to cook and she is obsessed with marshmallows so it was a fun activity for them to do together. We got the recipe from David Lebovitz’s website and it can be found here. It seems like a lot of steps but it really was easy to make, most of the time was spent waiting for things to heat up or cool down.
First step dissolve the gelatin. We used standard Knox gelatin which can be found at your local grocery store or online. We usually can find it pretty cheap at Fred Meyer. It doesn’t really go bad so it is a good idea to stock up on it when it goes on sale during canning season or around the holidays. You can also use this gelatin for making homemade jello or if you are into synchronized swimming for putting your hair up into an elaborate bun that will stay beautiful under water. Just don’t ask me how long it will take to remove the gelatin from you hair…
Here is where you mix your sugar and corn syrup and cook it on the stove.
You add water and bring it to a boil while you are also completing the egg white step with the mixer.
While your sugar mixture is heating up, add your egg whites to the mixer and beat on low until they are frothy.
Yay! Frothy egg white goodness!
Once your sugar mixture has reached 245 degrees slowly add it to the egg whites.
Slowly now! Try to keep it from hitting the beater and splashing all over the sides. Add your gelatin to your warm sugar pan to dissolve it and then slowly pour that into your egg whites as well.
Add your vanilla and whisk until the outside of the bowl is cool.
Sift your mixture of potato starch and powdered sugar evenly over a pan.
Make sure to cover all of the surfaces with no gaps or your marshmallows will stick.
Pour your marshmallow mixture over the pan.
Quickly spread it so that it is even.
Let cool completely.
You can also spread the potato starch/powdered sugar mixture over a plate to make blob type shapes if you don’t want to cut out sheets of marshmallows.
We did this for the kids so that they could “sample” them sooner. Next up, cutting!
Before he cut the marshmallows my husband sprinkled more potato starch/powdered sugar over the marshmallows so the blade wouldn’t stick.
Then he peeled them back and repeated spreading the mixture on the other side.
My husband used our handy kitchen shears to cut the marshmallows into rectangles.
And a cookie cutter to cut out one Mickey Mouse one for our daughter.
We stored them in a Tupperware container in a cool, dry place but we had some friends coming over so they didn’t last long!
That’s it for our fun marshmallow project! They would be great to take to a summer party or you could dip them in chocolate when they are cool and make marshmallow pops as another fun activity with kids!
Happy cooking!
Marshmallows by David Lebovitz
Delicious Marshmallows by David Lebovitz are an easy candy to make.
Ingredients
- 2 envelopes (17g) powdered gelatin or 17g sheet gelatin (8 to 10 sheets)
- 1/2 cup (125ml) + 1/3 cup (80ml) cold water
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (100g) light corn syrup
- 4 large egg whites (1/2 cup, 110g), at room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoon teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
Directions
- Step 1 One part corn starch (or potato starch), one part powdered sugar (about 1 cup, 140g, each)
- Step 2 In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/2 cup (125ml) of cold water to dissolve and soften. If using leaf gelatin, soak the leaves in about 2 cups (500ml) cold water.
- Step 3 In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, mix the sugar and corn syrup with 1/3 cup (80ml) of water. Place over medium-to-high heat.
- Step 4 (Note that you will use this saucepan twice, to make the syrup and melt the gelatin, eliminating the need to wash it between uses).
- Step 5 In the bowl of an electric mixer, pour in the egg whites and beat on low speed until frothy. Add the pinch of salt.
- Step 6 When the syrup reaches about 210ºF (99ºC), increase the speed of the mixer to high and beat the whites until they are thick and fluffy.
- Step 7 When the syrup reaches 245ºF (118ºC), while the mixer is running on high speed, slowly pour the hot syrup into the whites, pouring so that the syrup does not fall on the whisk since some of the syrup will splatter and stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Step 8 Scrape the gelatin and water into the pan that you used for the syrup, or put the gelatin sheets and 2 tablespoons of the water into the pan and swirl it to dissolve. (There should still be residual heat left in the pan from making the syrup in it to dissolve it).
- Step 9 Pour the liquified gelatin slowly into the whites as they are whipping. Add the vanilla extract or paste and continue to whip for 5 minutes, until the mixture is feels completely cool when you touch the outside of the bowl.
- Step 10 Dust a baking sheet evenly and completely with a generous layer of the marshmallow mixture. (I use a sifter to do this.) Make sure there are absolutely no bare spots.
- Step 11 Use a spatula to spread the marshmallows in a layer on the pan. Allow to dry for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, uncovered.
- Step 12 Put about 1 cup (140g) of the marshmallow mixture into a large bowl.
- Step 13 Dust the top of the marshmallows with some of the marshmallow mixture. Use a pizza cutter or scissors (dusted as well with the marshmallow mixture) to cut the marshmallows into any size or shape pieces that you’d like and toss the marshmallows in the marshmallow mixture. Shake the marshmallows vigorously in a wire strainer to remove the excess powder.
- Step 14 Alternatively, you can dust a baking sheet and put scoops of the marshmallow on it, and let them cool, as shown in the post.
- Step 15 Storage: The marshmallows can be made up to one week in advance, and stored in an airtight container
