marshmallow fluff

Who doesn’t love marshmallows? They’re so white, soft, fluffy and delicious, you can just munch on an entire bag because it’s impossible to stop once you’ve tasted the sugary pillow of sweetness. 

And then you try a homemade piece and you realize how badly you’ve been cheating your tastebuds by eating store-bought marshmallows.

Marshmallows are incredibly easy to make (but also quite easy to mess up!), and marshmallow fluff is such a versatile recipe that’s definitely worth trying your hand at.

The ingredients are as simple as can be: basically it’s just sugar and egg whites, whipped to sticky, fluffy perfection:

Timing is important for this recipe, so get everything you’ll need before you actually start, to avoid running around the kitchen in a panic. In the bowl of your mixer, add the egg whites and let them come to room temperature. In a small pan, preferably one with a heavy bottom (always prefer those when working with sugar), add the water, sugar and corn syrup and give them a quick mix. Keep a cup or glass of water and a pastry brush nearby, plus a candy thermometer as you’ll have to monitor the sugar syrup’s temperature very closely.

If you’re making marshmallows, you’ll need powdered sugar, a spatula (offset or otherwise), lightly greased by rubbing with a knob of butter, and a rectangle or square container lined with parchment paper and dusted with a nice thick coating of powdered sugar. You’ll also need a packet of powdered gelatin blooming in a couple of tablespoons of cold water in your mixer bowl before you add the egg whites and start a-whipping.

If you’re using marshmallow fluff to make fondant or nougat, depending on how much fluff you’ll need, keep a container handy to store leftovers.

Now let’s get whipping: start your mixer at medium speed until your egg whites turn frothy, and put the syrup on high heat and bring it to a boil. When your egg whites are light and foamy, increase the mixer speed to high. Meanwhile, take a look at your sugar syrup.

The corn syrup in there should prevent any crystals from forming, but if you stir the pan or if any sugar granules get splashed to the side of the pan while it’s boiling, it could ruin the entire batch. That’s what the pastry brush is for; dip it into the water and run it along the sides of the pan. The water will dislodge the crystals from the sides of the pan and guide them back into the syrup — disaster averted!

When the syrup comes to a rolling boil and there are no sugar crystals in sight, slap on your thermometer and watch closely as the temperature rises. You want it to get to 118^o C (244^o F); if your egg whites have reached the medium peak stage before then, just stop your mixer until your syrup’s ready to go. As soon as it’s at the right temperature, take it off the heat, put the mixer back on at medium speed, and slowly drizzle it in, trying to hit the spot between the sides of your bowl and the whisk attachment. 

Any spray droplets of syrup hitting either the bowl or the whisk will just stick to the sides of the bowl and solidify, so if that happens, just leave them be and don’t try to scrape down the sides or you’ll end up with a lumpy, crunchy mixture.

When all the syrup is in, up the speed to high and let it whip for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is stiff and shiny and oh so inviting.

When it forms stiff peaks, it’s ready. Now you’ve got choices to make. If you want a batch of homemade marshmallows, quickly transfer the mixture into your prepared (lined and sugared) container. It’s sticky stuff, so it’ll need quite a bit of coaxing with the spatula to go all the way to the edge of the container. It also starts to set right away, so be quick! Try to smooth the top as best you can, and then sprinkle another generous coating of powdered sugar on top. Leave at room temperature for at least 6 hours. After the time’s up, dust your bench or cutting board with yet more powdered sugar and get a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Turn out the slab of marshmallow and slice vertically to produce long strips, then cut them into bite-sized pieces, and quickly toss in (yes, you’ve guessed it) some more powdered sugar. The marshmallow might be set, but it’s stilly pretty damn sticky.  

If marshmallow fondant or nougat is on the menu, then go about making it — or store the marshmallow fluff in a container and keep it in the fridge until you need it.

Make sure the lid is tight-fitting and your fluff will keep for days; just bring it down to room temp before you start working with it.