Eggnog marshmallows

This year’s Christmas series was not as complete as I would have liked it to be, but it was a lot of fun making it just as the previous years: my house smelling of spices, delicious baked goods cooling down over the counter… It is, indeed, my favorite time of the year, and it would not have felt complete without cookies and gingerbread cake.

I hadn’t made marshmallows in a long time, so when I saw this eggnog version I knew they would be a great addition to my sweet celebration – they turned out great, with a wonderful texture. The recipe is great and you can customize it with other flavors, or maybe making them plain vanilla for the little ones to enjoy as well.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Thank you for keeping me company all this year, especially during those moments I wasn’t around here much – I deeply appreciate it. xx

Eggnog marshmallows
slightly adapted from this beautiful blog

10 leaves unflavored gelatin, each cut in 4 pieces
1 cup cold water, divided use
336g (12oz) granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
pinch of table salt
½ cup (60g) confectioners' sugar
½ cup (60g) cornstarch
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ tablespoon rum
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
vegetable oil, for brushing the pan

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with ½ cup (120ml) of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining ½ cup (120ml) water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 115°C (240°F), approximately 7-8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat – while the mixture cookies, prep the pan: in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and corn starch. Brush a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan with vegetable oil and sprinkle with some of the corn starch mixture, tapping out the excess and saving the remaining mixture for the finishing steps of the recipe.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, add in nutmeg and increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, 12-15 minutes. Beat in the rum and vanilla.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan spreading evenly. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using sharp knife brushed with vegetable oil. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining corn starch mixture. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Makes 48

Gingerbread marshmallows

I’ve been baking lots of cookies lately – these books have been at my kitchen counter all the time – but I wanted something else for the people at work, something that to them would sound unusual. Marshmallows were the perfect choice: upon delivering some of the small plastic bags filled with the candy some of my coworkers were really intrigued by the idea of homemade marshmallows, and “did you actually make these???” was the sentence I heard the most throughout that day. :)
Besides that, there were other reasons behind the choice: I hadn’t made marshmallows in a very long time, they have a Christmassy feel, the recipe yields a lot – that way many, many goodie bags would be made with it – and I also wanted to please my sister, who is absolutely crazy about them. I waited for her feedback, thinking that she might find them too spicy, or too gingery, but she said they were fantastic – she’s a grown up now and bold flavors don’t scare her anymore (but she still won’t eat bacon, which is something I’ll never understand). :D

Gingerbread marshmallows
adapted from the always gorgeous and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

4 tablespoons powdered gelatin
1 cup (240ml) warm water
3 ¼ cups (650g) granulated sugar
¾ cup corn syrup or golden syrup
½ cup + 1 tablespoon molasses
2/3 cup (160ml) water, extra
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
vegetable oil and icing sugar, for the pan

For rolling the marshmallows:
1 ½ cups (210g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons corn starch, sifted

Lightly oil a 20x30cm (8x12in) cake pan and dust it generously with icing sugar*.
Place the gelatin and warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir well to combine and set aside. Place the sugar, glucose, molasses and extra water in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat without stirring. Bring to the boil and cook for 5-6 minutes or until soft ball stage: 115°C/240°F on a sugar thermometer.
With the mixer running at high speed, gradually add the hot syrup to the gelatin mixture – carefully because the mixture may splash. Add the vanilla and the spices and beat for 10 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Pour into prepared pan and leave at room temperature overnight.

Place the icing sugar and corn starch in a bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle some of the mixture onto a surface and unmold the marshmallow onto it (loosen it from the sides of the pan with a sharp knife). Using a lightly oiled knife, cut into squares and roll into the icing sugar mixture. Store in an airtight container.

* the recipe yielded so much that I was able to fill two 20x30cm (8x12in) pans with it, and in the end I got 110 marshmallows

Makes about 50 marshmallows

Honey and gingerbread cakes

A couple of days ago I was talking here about how the holiday season brings me down - I saw panettones at the supermarket and realized that Christmas is just around the corner. On the other hand, I love holiday food – I’ve been planning a special series of holiday posts, like the one I did last year, but luckily with more recipes this time.

It’s too soon to start the holiday series around here, I know, but I could not resist making these cakes – they’re on the DH mag I received last Friday.

Honey and gingerbread cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

¼ cup honey
¼ cup corn syrup
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
65g unsalted butter, cold and chopped
1 egg
icing sugar, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C; butter twelve 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity mini bundt pans*.
Place the honey, corn syrup, sugar and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool until lukewarm.
Place the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and butter in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, gradually add the honey mixture and process until smooth. Add the egg and process for 1 minute. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes then carefully unmold. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

* I made the exact recipe and used four 1 cup (240ml) capacity bundt pans

Makes 12

Chocolate thumbprints

It’s been a while since I last made ice cream and, even with the cold days here, I sometimes feel like having a scoop or two... :D
Next time I make ice cream I know exactly where to go for inspiration: the issue #9 of Desserts Magazine is full of delicious ice cream recipes! And my sweet corn ice cream is there, too. :D

In the winter, I’ll take any excuse to turn the oven on to get the kitchen warm and cozy, and that’s much better when there are cookies involved. This recipe comes from Martha’s website but it only worked out perfectly because of Lizzie’s comment about the extravagant amount of filling and the Food Librarian’s warning about burned thumbs. :D

Chocolate thumbprints

Cookie dough:
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour, sifted

Filling:
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
56g (2oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Start by making the dough: in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium high, until a dough forms – it won’t be sticky.
Roll dough by teaspoonfuls into balls, and place 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and press thumb* into tops of cookies to make indentations. Return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Make the filling: combine chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture – there will be some filling left, even though I halved the filling recipe without halving the dough recipe.

* I used this measuring spoon to make the indentations on the hot cookies

Makes 2 dozen – I got 30

Banana butterscotch pudding

I’m here today on a very special mission: I must convince you, my dear readers, to make this dessert next time you see a very ripe, freckled banana hanging around.

Banana bread is delicious, and so are banana cakes and cookies, but hear me when I say you’ll be an extremely happier person once you’ve tasted this pudding. Did I mention there’s caramel sauce involved? Oh, yes, there is. Plenty of it. Yum.

Mission accomplished. :D

Banana butterscotch pudding
from Simply Bill

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
1 banana, mashed
1 cup (240ml) milk
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (140g) brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons golden syrup – I used corn syrup
1 cup (240ml) boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl; add sugar and mix.
Add the banana milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract and whisk together until well combined.
Pour into a greased 2-liter baking dish.

Topping: mix the brown sugar, golden syrup and water in a small pan and bring to a boil (give it a stir so sugar is dissolved).
Pour the boiling mixture carefully over the pudding, place the baking dish inside a baking sheet then bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer.

Serve with vanilla ice cream – I served with yogurt and its tang flavor matched the sweet caramel wonderfully!

Serves 4 – I think it definitely serves 6

I'm in a marshmallow state of mind...

Quoting – I mean, sort of – Billy Joel reminds me of the day I saw him and his teeny-tiny wife on Oprah. Katie Lee Joel was showing their apartment and telling how she had gotten Nate Berkus to decorate it, after watching him on Oprah one day. When the cameras got to her room, I was in complete shock – the doors of her (huge) closet were all covered in gold. Yes, people, GOLD. Seriously – I found that so tacky I had to laugh. Out loud. Who needs gold splashed on the walls, for heaven's sake? I wonder if they would air that episode nowadays.

Well, back to something important – the marshmallows. These are great and even though there are extravagant amounts of sugar and corn syrup involved you can still taste the fruit. Make sure you check the post I got the recipe from – her marshmallows look absolutely amazing.

Strawberry marshmallows

2 tablespoons (or 8 sheets) unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup strawberry purée – blend/process 5-6 strawberries and pass through a fine sieve to remove the seeds
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons water
½ cup + 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (140g) confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch

Line a 20cm (8in) square pan with parchment paper. Coat this with a very thin layer of vegetable oil*.

Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. In the mixing bowl, combine the puree with vanilla extract. Sprinkle with the gelatin and allow to bloom (soften).

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil with the lid on and without stirring. When it is at a boil, remove lid and continue to cook without stirring until it reaches the soft-ball stage – 112-115ºC/234-240ºF.

With the mixer at medium speed, pour tall of the hot syrup slowly down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Please be very careful with the hot mixture - use a splash guard if you have one. When all the syrup is added, bring the mixture up to full speed and whip until mixture is fluffy and stiff about 8-10 minutes – if you are using a Kitchen Aid mixer that will take about 5 minutes.

Pour marshmallow into the parchment lined pan and smooth with an oiled offset spatula if necessary. Drop food coloring over the marshmallow and swirl around with a toothpick to create the marbled effect. Allow to sit, uncovered at room temperature for 10-12 hours.

Mix confectioners’ sugar and corn starch and sift over the rested marshmallows. Turn slap onto a cutting board, peel off paper and dust with more of the powder mixture. Cut as desired and dredge again in the powder mixture, and shake off excess powder – using a lightly oiled knife makes this step a lot easier.

* I had a hard time removing them from the paper, but it was worth it. :D

Makes 36

Lollipops

What should one do when feeling a desperate urge to make something sweet but has no time to wait for the butter to come to room temperature, not to mention there is something else in the oven? Candy. In my case, bright red and very, very sweet lollipops.

These might look tricky, but believe me, they are not. The lollipops were fun to make and I think they would be a great treat for birthday parties – not only for kids, of course. :D

Lollipops
from The Christmas Candy Book

1 cup (200g) sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1-2 drops oil of anise, cinnamon, clove, lemon or orange – I used vanilla extract
few drops of red, yellow, blue or green food coloring

Oil a marble slab or baking sheet. Have ready at least a dozen wooden sucker sticks.

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water and stir to blend. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover and boil for 2-3 minutes. Uncover and insert a candy thermometer in the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 143ºC/290ºF. If sugar crystals form on the pan sides, wash the down with a pastry brush dipped in warm water.
Remove the pan from the heat and immediately dip the bottom of it into a pan of cold water to arrest cooking, removing quickly before the mixture gets too cold. Place on a dry kitchen towel. Add the flavoring and coloring of choice.
Using a large metal spoon, immediately spoon a little less than 4cm (1½ in) pools of syrup onto the prepared marble slab/sheet*. Lay one end of the lollipop stick in each pool of syrup while still soft and push gently to secure in place. Dot a little extra syrup on the embedded end of the stick. Let cool at room temperature until completely set, about 2 hours.

Wrap each lollipop in cellophane or waxed paper. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

* once the mixture got cold and difficult to mold, I returned the pan to medium heat, stirring, until it became soft again (30 seconds or so)

Makes about 12 – I got 16

Toffee butter crunch

I did something wrong with this recipe. Two mistakes, actually.
After finishing the candy making, I realized that I’d forgotten to chop the slivered almonds for the topping. Not to mention I did not toast the nuts at all. :S

But, in my defense, my mind was somewhere else for a good reason - I’d just discovered this absolutely gorgeous blog and lost track of time going through it. :D

Toffee butter crunch
from here

½ cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted – I used flaked almonds
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light-colored corn syrup
¾ cup (130g) semisweet chocolate pieces
½ cup finely chopped almonds, toasted

Line a 32.5x22.5x5cm (13x9x2-inch)* baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Sprinkle the ½ cup coarsely chopped nuts in pan. Set pan aside.

Butter sides of a heavy 2-quart (2 liter) saucepan. In saucepan melt butter. Add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring frequently, till thermometer registers 143ºC/290ºF, soft-crack stage (about 15 minutes). Watch carefully after 137ºC/280ºF to prevent scorching. Remove saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Pour candy into the prepared pan.

Let candy stand about 5 minutes or till firm; sprinkle with chocolate. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes. When chocolate has softened, spread over candy. Sprinkle with the ½ cup finely chopped nuts. Chill until firm.
When candy is firm, use foil to lift it out of pan; break into pieces. Store tightly covered – I kept it in the fridge to keep the chocolate layer hard.

* I used a 30x20x5cm pan.

Makes about 680g (1 ½ pounds)

Chocolate marshmallows

My friend and I went to the movies last night to watch “Nights in Rodanthe” and we both got out of the theater even more in love with Richard Gere then we already were. :)

Part of the movie takes place in a beautiful beach, with a house surrounded by balconies. I can easily picture myself there, with a cup of hot chocolate and these marshmallows. Talk about a great way of spending a cold afternoon.

Chocolate marshmallows
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Marshmallows:
20g powdered gelatin
330g sugar
100ml corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
20g Dutch-process cocoa

Coating:
60g pure icing sugar, sifted
35g corn starch
15g Dutch-process cocoa

Place gelatin in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add 1/3 cup (80ml) cold water and let stand for 10 minutes.
Combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/3 cup (80ml) water in a saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, bring to the boil and cook without stirring until mixture reaches 121ºC/249ºF on a sugar thermometer. With the mixer on low speed, add this syrup in a thin steady stream and whisk until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl, add vanilla, increase speed to high and whisk for 8-10 minutes or until thick, white and fluffy – I used a Kitchen Aid and in 4 minutes it was done.
Sieve over the cocoa, whisk and transfer mixture to a baking paper-lined, lightly oiled 17cm-square cake pan*, smoothing top and stand overnight. Turn onto a lightly oiled cutting board and cut into squares – coating the knife with cooking spray or brushing it with oil helps a lot.

Sieve together icing sugar, corn starch and cocoa, then roll marshmallows in cocoa mixture to coat.

Marshmallows will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.

* I used a high 15cm square pan and a 20cm square pan would have been even better

Makes about 60