Marshmallows

homemade marshmallows with raspberry puree

sour and sweet lemon marshmallows

I made marshmallows yesterday and today using a recipe that doesn't have egg whites. I have a carton of raspberries, pureed them and used it instead of water to soften the gelatin powder. The fruit is naturally tart and cuts the sweetness of these melt-in-your-mouth marshmallows. These homemade candies are superior to the one from the stores. They're so light and fluffy and I was so pleased with the result I made a second batch using fresh lemon juice because I love Super Lemon, the pucker-inducing deliciously sour and sweet hard candies from Japan. The marshmallows are sour enough but I'd like to coat it with the super sour powder similar to the hard candy's if I can figure out where to buy it.

Marshmallows
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
3 ounces water, fruit juice, or fruit puree
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups sugar
3 ounces water
5 ounces light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
gel food dye if using juice or puree
potato or corn starch
powdered sugar

• Line an 8 x 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Brush with a very thin layer of vegetable oil and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.
• In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine water and vanilla extract. Sprinkle the gelatin and leave to soften.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn syrup and water. Heat to boiling while stirring until sugar has dissolved. Clip a candy thermometer and continue to cook on medium heat without stirring until it reaches 240° F.
• With the mixer at low speed, carefully pour the hot syrup slowly down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. When the mixture has slightly thickened, increase the speed to high and whip until mixture is fluffy and stiff, about 10 minutes, adding food dye if using.
• Pour marshmallow into the parchment lined pan and smooth with a lightly oiled rubber scraper if necessary. Leave uncovered at room temperature for 10-12 hours or in the refrigerator for 3 hours until set.
• Mix equal parts cornstarch and powdered sugar and sprinkle over the marshmallows. Turn the marshmallow onto a cutting board generously sprinkled with powdered sugar and starch mixture, peel off paper and dust with more of the powder mixture. Cut into desired size and dredge all sides again in the powder mixture. Shake off excess powder.

This is a very messy project. Strings of marshmallows got stuck everywhere including my hair. And I went outside to blow off some of the excess powder on the plate of marshmallows and the powder went all over my red shirt, shoes, hair.... but it's worth all the mess in the kitchen and myself. I'll make them again when I feel like fruity marshmallows; hmm, blueberries sound good. I'll wear a light colored shirt next time I make them.:p

messy

Deviled Eggs With Caviar

I have never made deviled eggs before and always avoided them at parties. Although I love eggs, these have never appealed to me because they look dry and blah. I have prepared the very versatile eggs in many different ways: fried, scrambled, omelettes, egg whites added to Chinese soups, soft and hard boiled to ramen soup, chopped for salad and sandwiches with olive spread, foo yung, and with red sauce, I could go on and on.:p. I was looking for a simple deviled eggs recipe and found one that is lemon flavored and topped with caviar. It's fortunate I have a jar of really cheap Icelandic black capelin caviar in the pantry that I was planning to use for onigiri and sushi.

Deviled Eggs With Lemon
8 eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
lemon zest for garnish
black caviar

• Use eggs that are at least 1 week old. The day before making deviled eggs, tape the box of eggs and lay it on its side to center the yolks. The next day, put eggs in a medium saucepan, add water to cover, let come to a boil. Immediately remove from heat, cover and set timer to 12 minutes. Drain and fill pan with cold water, changing 3 times. Leave the water and eggs in the pan, peel eggs under running water to avoid breakage and for ease of peeling. With a sharp knife, cut each egg in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks onto a bowl. Cover whites with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Mash egg yolks with a fork, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate both for 30 minutes. Mix egg yolks with the rest of the ingredients, except lemon zest and caviar, until very smooth. Using a medium star tip, pipe yolk mixture into the egg white holes, extending a little bit over the hole. If serving immediately, spoon a little of the caviar on top using plastic utensil. Sprinkle with lemon zest. These can be covered and refrigerated a day before, adding caviar just before serving.