Rose lemonade marshmallows

I am a bad blogger. First I chose to do a PhD and had to write a thesis, when you spend all day writing you DO NOT want to write a blog post. Then I had to organise moving house. Then I got told by the doctor no dairy OR gluten. Then I moved house, and still have no internet.

Well I am now just doing corrections on my thesis so I am happy to write blog posts again. I am all moved (hurrah), still no internet but starbucks has come to the rescue with free wifi. The dairy and gluten thing can be tricky when out and about but actually with a few tweaks baking is absolutely fine, and I actually quite like the challenge of making delicious cakes that do not make me sick and that nobody else can tell are free from dairy and gluten.

As an aside my mum is amazing, she loves baking, I think I get that gene from Her, and when I was down last weekend she made an amazing lime and coconut cake, dairy and gluten free, Thanks mum!

I present today some rose lemonade marshmallows. The letter for alpha bakes this month was R and I realised yesterday this was due... oops.

I decided to use rose as I do like it but find some things made with rose are a tad overpowering. I have previously made champagne marshmallows and decided to adapt the recipe. My idea was to mix rose cordial with lemonade and use in place of the champagne. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across the is rose lemonade by Fetimans in Waitrose. My mixing was already done for me! By the way, I drank the extra, its delicious.

This recipe makes oodles and oodles but they will keep well in an airtight container. I love packaging them up in cute bags and tying with pretty ribbon to give away as gifts!

Rose lemonade marshmallows

3 sachets gelatine
250ml rose lemonade
340g caster sugar
325g golden syrup
Pink gel colouring
30g icing sugar
30g corn flour

Combine the icing sugar and corn flour in a bowl. Lightly oil a 13 by 9 inch pan (I used my brownie tin) and thoroughly coat in ~ 1/2 the icing sugar mix, reserving the rest.

Put the gelatine into the bowl of a free standing mixer. Add 125ml of the rose lemonade and allow to soften.

Meanwhile put the sugar, golden syrup and remaining rose lemonade into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Warm over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium/high and cook until the syrup reaches 240F on a sugar thermometer.

Remove from the heat and immediately start the mixer on slow. Carefully pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl onto the gelatine.

Increase the speed of the mixer and beat for 12 minutes. Add a little colouring (a little goes a long way!) and beat for a further couple of minutes.

Scoop the sticky mass into the prepared pan, smooth over and sprinkle with the remaining icing sugar mix.  Leave for a least 4 hours or overnight then cut into squares.

More blog posts are on the way.. I am going to bake my first cake in the new oven this afternoon... wish me luck!

Pink champagne marshmallows

These were another homemade gift this Christmas. Thankfully there were plenty left over as I love marshmallows and homemade ones are truly amazing.

The champagne flavour of these really comes through, giving an intensely fruity flavour.

Sorry for the lack of photos, it was very frantic making these on Christmas Eve. I urge you to give these a go should you be willing to spare a glass of you New Years prosecco or champagne!


Pink champagne marshmallows

3 sachets gelatine
250ml champagne/prosecco
340g caster sugar
325g golden syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Pink gel colouring
30g icing sugar
30g corn flour

Combine the icing sugar and corn flour in a bowl. Lightly oil a 13 by 9 inch pan (I used my brownie tin) and thoroughly coat in ~ 1/2 the icing sugar mix, reserving the rest.

Put the gelatine into the bowl of a free standing mixer. Add 125ml of the champagne and allow to soften.

Meanwhile put the sugar, golden syrup and remaining champagne into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Warm over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium/high and cook until the syrup reaches 240F on a candy thermometer.

Remove from the heat and immediately start the mixer on slow. Carefully pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl onto the gelatine.

Increase the speed of the mixer and beat for 12 minutes. Add in the vanilla and a little colouring (a little goes a long way!) and beat for a further couple of minutes.

Scoop the sticky mass into the prepared pan, smooth over and sprinkle with the remaining icing sugar mix.  Leave for a least 4 hours or overnight then cut into squares.

These will keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container.

Cookie dough marshmallow

Dom over at Belleau Kitchen runs a random recipe challenge. The logic behind this particular blogging challenge is simple. How many of us have many many recipe books, magazines and cut outs? How many of us bookmark so many different things to make but then never quite get round to it? Baking instead another batch of the same (but delicious) brownies/cookies/victoria sponges. There is of course nothing wrong with a tried and tested favourite but the idea of this challenge is to not let those recipe books go to waste and find new exciting dishes and have some fun along the way.

I decide to join in this month. It is the challenges 30th 'birthday' and we were instructed to count along to our 30th book and make whatever was on page 30. All the rules in detail can be found here.

So off I went and counted and I landed on the cookie dough lovers cook book. This seemed a good start as I think I have only made 2 or 3 things from the book.

On page 30 were cookie dough marshmallows. I immediately loved this challenge as I absolutely adore marshmallows and have been meaning to make them for AGES but once again never got round to it.

The author of the book has her own blog and the recipe for these can be found here.

The verdict? Homemade marshmallows are divine. Fact. The flavour and texture is amazing. I do have one quibble with these particular ones though. The cookie dough adds a gritty crunch from the sugar. I want my marshmallows to be completely meltingly soft.

Saying that these are divine for topping my hot chocolate!

I have fallen in love so much that I am going to make a second batch this weekend (flavour to be decided) to fully test the soft fluffy goodness of my own marshmallows.

Teacakes

I have had my eye on making these for a while, the only thing that niggled me was the fact that the recipe said they needed to be eaten on the day they are made. Even if I halved the recipe that is a lot of teacakes for the two of us.

However an extra house guest and the letter 'T' being the letter of the month for alpha bakes meant that these finally got made.

 Alpha bakes is a blogging challenge which is hosted on alternate months by Ros from The more than occasional baker and Caroline from Caroline makes. This is a monthly challenge where the aim is to bake with an ingredient that starts with the random alphabet letter chosen for that month.

And I am so very glad I did make them, they are yummy.

Five teacakes managed to be eaten by the 3 of us for an afternoon snack, I am going to keep the remaining one and see what happens to it when I keep it overnight.

The teacake recipe is from Peyton and Byrne, I have adapted very slightly, due to personal taste and to what I had in.

Marshmallow Teacakes (Peyton and Byrne)


For biscuits


60g butter
60g caster sugar
tsp vanilla paste
2 egg yolks
tbsp whole milk
110g flour
good pinch bicarbonate of soda
good pinch baking powder


For Marshmallow


2 egg whites
90g caster sugar
good pinch cream of tarter


200g of milk chocolate (I used dairy milk)


Preheat the oven to 180C/160C FAN and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.


Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla paste until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and milk then beat to combine. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix until it is incorporated, make sure it is combined but do not overmix. 


Place tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared sheet ~5cm apart.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden round the edges. Remove from the baking tray and cool completely on a wire rack.

Whilst the biscuits are cooling make up the marshmallow. Put all the ingredients in a heat proof bowl and place over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Whisk the mixture until it is opaque and you can feel no sugar granules when you rub a little of the mixture between your fingers.


Remove the meringue from the heat and keep whisking until the bowl is cool to the touch and the marshmallow it holds its shape.  


Pipe generous blobs of the marshmallow onto the completely cooled biscuits and set aside to set while you prepare the chocolate.

Melt half the chocolate over a gentle heat, once melted add the remaining chocolate, leave for a few minutes and then stir until smooth. 


Using a teaspoon spoon the chocolate over the teacakes, this will be messy and rustic looking!

Leave the teacakes for at least an hour to set up.