Cocoa Marshmallows; squidgy pillows of cocoa-rich melting marshmallow that beats the shop-bought version any day!
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Let’s be honest, some foods are just not worth the effort to make.
Whether it’s the cost of their ingredients, the fiddly technicalities, or just how long it can take to create, some things are best left to the professionals. I’m looking at you, croissants.
However, there are a wealth foods that you might think fall into this category, but really don’t deserve such bad press. Homemade breads or cookies come to mind and, perhaps surprisingly, so do marshmallows.
(Do you love marshmallow? Try out this Raspberry Marshmallow Cake!)
Marshmallows are bizarre thing. Squishy blobs of sweet stuff that can really divide opinion. Some people can scoff them by the greedy handful, many will only enjoy them on top of steaming hot chocolate, others cannot abide by them at all. Whatever your stance on these soft little things is, we can all attest to them being a culinary oddity.
They belong to the world of confectionery, something that stretches far beyond the realms of wee boiled sweets. Confectionery is an art in both its techniques and its requirement for utter fearlessness around vats of boiling sugar. It’s something I’ve begun to tackle this month, in the continuation of my mission to teach myself to become a pastry chef.
You can find the original recipe that I have adapted this from in Le Cordon Bleu’s Pastry book.
I’m very pleased to report that marshmallows, and specifically these Cocoa Marshmallows, have not only been the simplest to make but also the most delicious.
These Cocoa Marshmallows are a mallow-lovers dream. Impossibly soft and bouncy, they completely melt in the mouth. They are both refreshingly light, and deep with chocolate. You won’t feel them getting horribly crusted on the outside like over-sweetened shop-bought marshmallows. Oh, and once you try these in a mocha or a hot chocolate? Girl, you’ll never touch those regular pink and white monstrosities ever again.
(Unless you love pink and white marshmallows, in which case you’ll really love these Hot Chocolate Cupcakes!)
As ever, I used Cocoa Runner’s cooking chocolate for the chocolate accent to these Cocoa Marshmallows. You’ll need a 100% cocoa chocolate to give these the bold cocoa flavour that balances out all the sweetness. Don’t forget to use code MaverickBaking10 for a cheeky discount if you shop!
I really hope you love these soft pillowy Cocoa Marshmallows as much as we have. They’re perfect for snacking, hitting that sweet craving, melting into hot chocolate and more. They would also make for wonderful edible Christmas gifts for your loved ones you may be separated from this festive season.
As ever, thanks for stopping by. Stay happy, stay healthy, and I’ll see you soon for a new recipe!
To save these Cocoa Marshmallows for later, you can pin the image below:
To make these Cocoa Marshmallows, simply follow the recipe below!
Ingredients
- 11 gelatine leaves
- 75ml (⅓ cup) water
- 180g (scant 1 cup) caster sugar
- 45g (3 tbsp) glucose
- 200g (⅔ cup) set honey (the kind thick enough to spread)
- 50g (1 ½ oz) cocoa mass, or 100% cocoa chocolate (I like to use Cocoa Runners’)
- 200g (1 cup) icing sugar (for dusting, you may not need it all)
Instructions
- Place your gelatine leaves in a wide bowl filled with cold water. (Try to space them out if you can, they love to stick to each other and you want to try and avoid that for them to soften quickly!)
- Set a medium saucepan over a high heat and pour in your water, sugar, glucose and half of your honey. Carefully heat the mixture, without stirring it, until it reaches 110 C on a cooking thermometer.
- Pour the hot syrup into a large bowl and add the remaining honey.
- Remove your soft gelatine leaves from the water, squeezing them to drain out excess liquid, and add them to the bowl.
- Use an electric whisk or freestanding mixer to whip the mixture until it looks white, opaque, and holds stiff peaks like a meringue.
- In a separate heatproof bowl, either in the microwave or over a pan of gently simmering water, melt your cocoa.
- Pour the melted cocoa into the white mixture and whip for another few seconds to fully incorporate.
- Set a well-greased 20cm x 20cm (8 x 8 in) pastry square, or the body of a loose-based 20cm x 20cm (8 x 8 in) square baking tin, over a sheet of greaseproof paper.
- Tip your thick, sticky marshmallow mixture into the square/tin and carefully spread into as flat a layer as you can. Dust over a handful of icing sugar.
- Allow the marshmallow to set at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
- Once set, run a knife round the edge of the marshmallow and tip it out onto a surface dusted generously with icing sugar.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the marshmallow slab into cubes of squishy marshmallow.
- Wrap to give as gifts, or enjoy by yourself!
