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Very Fluffy Honey Marshmallows | Cooking With Bells On

Very Fluffy Honey Marshmallows

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…….ring………ring…..

Mom: So, what do you have planned for Easter?

Kirsten: What do you mean have planned for Easter? Why would I do something for Easter?

Mom: You know, to celebrate.

Kirsten: Uhhh, Mom, well…… You know, Mom, Brian isn’t religious and I don’t really….

Mom: But it’s Easter. You should do something special.

A Pan Full of Fluffy Homemade Marshmallows | Cooking With Bells On
Slicing Homemade Marshmallows into Fluffy Squares
Homemade Marshmallows Getting A Powdered Sugar Coating | Cooking With Bells On

So that’s more or less the conversation I had with my mom earlier this week. To put things into context, Easter is my mom’s absolute favorite holiday. I’m not sure what in particular she loves about it – the colors, the celebration of spring and rebirth, the festive activities for little children, or maybe even the proximity to her birthday.* Whatever it is, it certainly compels her to celebrate, and the celebrations of Easter in our house were always something special, indeed. Egg hunts, feasts, chocolates, gifts… we did it all, and it all was beautifully and thoughtfully prepared by my mom down to the last detail.

Very Fluffy Honey Marshmallows | Cooking With Bells On

I may have given up my religious persuasions, but our conversation nevertheless rekindled for me happy memories of Easters past. In the spirit of these memories I decided that maybe I ought to do something special to celebrate, after all.

These fluffy, honey-scented marshmallows are the product of that decision, and I have to tell you they are a very good addition to a celebration. I chose them with my mom in mind; she prefers light desserts, and I wanted to make something frivolous and pretty for her, something in which she could indulge a few bites without regret.

Very Fluffy Honey Marshmallows | Cooking With Bells On

Of course, I also had plenty of influence over how these turned out. As I scanned the recipe for marshmallows I had relied on before, I found that I just couldn’t bring myself to purchase one of the particular ingredients called for. That light corn syrup… it just doesn’t fit in with the way I think about food. Perhaps if I could find corn syrup made from non-GMO corn I could come around, but even then… I still can’t find a way to think about syrup made from corn as a real food. Honey, it seems to me, is a reasonable substitute. And more than just providing a safer source of sweetener, honey imparts a lovely nougat flavor. Not that I’m about to get carried away with thinking my marshmallows are healthy – they’re still sugar – but if I’m going to take a lashing from the devil or his assistant, I’ll choose his assistant every time.

*Happy (early) Birthday, Mom. I love you so much.

Very Fluffy Honey Marshmallows

Makes about 24 marshmallows

Very Fluffy Honey Marshmallows | Cooking With Bells On

I think you might be surprised by how simple it is to make marshmallows at home, and how rewarding, too. Homemade marshmallows are one of those foods that barely resemble their store-bought counterparts. They’re fluffy, not springy, and delightfully sticky. Oh, and they have actual flavor, rather than tasting mostly like air. 

If homemade marshmallows aren’t quite special enough for you, or if you (like some people I know) can’t call something dessert if it doesn’t contain chocolate, scroll down to find out how to enrobe these in dark chocolate. Coating them in chocolate is only one little extra step, and though I was reluctant to go there with these marshmallows (which I think are perfect on their own) I have to admit that it’s totally worth it.

Ingredients for Very Fluffy Homemade Marshmallows | Cooking With Bells On

Ingredients:

4 packets gelatin (if I had more forethought, I would have used 4 tbsp of this)

1 cup water, divided

coconut oil or cooking spray, for greasing

1 cup honey

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, split & scraped

1 cup powdered sugar

Special equipment:

candy thermometer

Blooming Gelatin
Boiling Honey Syrup | Cooking With Bells On
Whipping Marshmallows | Cooking With Bells On

Soak the gelatin: Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a large bowl and sprinkle the gelatin overtop. Stir gently to evenly coat the gelatin. Allow to bloom for at least 5 minutes. (The gelatin will turn into a firm mass. Don’t worry, you didn’t ruin it, it’s supposed to look that way.) While the gelatin blooms, grease a baking dish. I used a 9×13″ dish, but would use a 8×8″ pan next time to produce taller marshmallows. Line with parchment paper then grease the parchment, as well.

Make the honey syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup water with the honey and salt. Place over medium-high heat and boil for 8-12 minutes until the temperature registers 240°F on a candy thermometer.

Whip the marshmallows: Carefully pour the honey syrup over the gelatin, beating with electric beaters (or in a stand mixer) as you pour.* Beat the mixture on the slowest speed, and over the course of several minutes gradually increase the speed until the mixer is going as fast as it can. Continue to beat until the mixture is very stiff and forms shiny, heavy ribbons when you lift the beaters, another 8-12 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and seeds and beat until well combined.

Pour the marshmallows: Pour the marshmallows into the prepared pan, using a wet spatula to scrape and smooth. Place aside for at least 2 hours (or overnight) to set.

Cut the marshmallows: Sift powdered sugar over the pan of marshmallows. Invert the pan onto another sheet of parchment, remove the greased parchment from the top, and sift over the exposed side. Cut the marshmallows into squares and coat all exposed edges with powdered sugar (either with the sifter or by rolling them in a bowl of powdered sugar). Marshmallows should keep in the fridge for 4 days.

*Caramel burns are serious business, I know from experience. If you’re as clumsy as I am it might be wise to get a responsible friend to do the pouring for you while you beat the mixture.

Marshmallows Coated in Dark Chocolate

Marshmallows Coated in Dark Chocolate | Cooking With Bells On

Ingredients:

7 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

1 recipe Very Fluffy Honey Marshmallows

Melted Dark Chocolate | Cooking With Bells On
Marshmallows Coated in Dark Chocolate | Cooking With Bells On

Melt the chocolate: Place the chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring between. Heat until there are a few pieces of chocolate lingering in the dark pool of melted chocolate and allow these to melt on their own.

Coat the marshmallows: Dip marshmallows individually into the melted chocolate, using a spoon to help coat all sides. Remove coated marshmallows to a parchment lined baking tray. Refrigerate coated marshmallows for 15 minutes to set the chocolate. Serve fresh from the fridge; the chocolate will melt if left out at room temperature for too long.

 

The Next Step in My Career + Chocolate Pudding

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Remember how a few weeks ago I told you I was making a big change? Well, that wasn’t the end of the story. How could it have been? As exciting as it was to bid the finance world an enthusiastic goodbye, I had to get moving on what the next step would be for me, professionally. While it took a few weeks to get everything in line, I’m finally ready to share with you some big news.

Starting May 28th, I will begin my training as a student at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. That’s right guys, I’m going to culinary school.

A photo of me getting fitted in my chef's uniform.

Getting fitted in my uniform.

For all the grief that deciding to leave my old job gave me, the decision to enroll in culinary school came surprisingly easy. When I sat down to think about how my future career might shape up, I had a few criteria I knew I wanted to address. First of all, I wanted my career to be centered on cooking. Not food, the end product, but specifically cooking, the process. Second, I wanted this career to express my very personal point of view, my belief that cooking is a simple yet powerful way to care for yourself. I wasn’t (and still am not) fully sure what a career meeting these criteria would look like, but I knew that if I were to put myself in a position to speak about food, I wanted to be able to do so with authority. It was apparent to me that culinary school could provide me with the training I needed to speak with such authority.

Taking a peek at a few classes at ICE.
Taking a peek at a few classes at ICE.

Now that I am officially enrolled at ICE I am allowing myself to get excited about the upcoming months in culinary school. I’m going to be spending the next five months in a classroom in the middle of Manhattan, learning from some amazing chefs. Some of the curriculum I am already familiar with (I have pretty good knife skills), but I’m excited to improve. Other things will be entirely new to me. I can’t wait for my early classes in “protein fabrication”, where I will learn how to butcher a cow and break down a whole fish, and I’m really looking forward to learning how to make proper sauces, which is something I rarely bother with in my home cooking. I’m also eagerly anticipating the module on modern culinary masters, where I will learn the stories and recipes behind great chefs like Mario Batali, Daniel Boulud, and Thomas Keller. Learning how they developed their culinary personalities will be incredibly useful to me as I begin to develop my own.

After those five months in the classroom, I’ll move on to an externship in a professional kitchen. In my externship, I’ll choose a restaurant whose aesthetic and values I admire, and begin to hone my skills under the guidance of the chefs there. For me, a girl who thinks staying out late means coming home at 10:30, this portion of my training will be particularly demanding, but I’m nonetheless excited for the challenge.

Through all of this, I’ll still be blogging regularly, keeping you up to date on the changes in my life and providing you, as always, with simple and delicious recipes. This next step in my journey is so exciting for me. I can’t wait to begin and to share everything I’ll be learning with you.

Chocolate Pudding with Homemade Whipped Cream

Serves 4

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Homemade chocolate pudding.

One Saturday in March I attended an open house at ICE, during which they took all the prospective students on a short tour of the school. At one point we were shown to a pastry classroom for a short demonstration. There, the pastry chef-professor made for us a simple chocolate pudding as we asked questions about the program. My boyfriend had a few extremely important questions he voiced to be answered, like “How much time will she spend learning pastry?” and “Is ice cream a part of the curriculum?”. Two weeks, Brian, and yes, I will be making you ice cream.

At home I attempted to recreate that chocolate pudding from memory, and of course it was an utter failure. I’m happy to report that this new recipe was more successful. It produced a pudding that was creamy and smooth and totally nostalgic. Because it uses cornstarch as a thickener (instead of eggs), there’s no worries to be had over scrambling the custard. I promise you it’s super easy and definitely an improvement over store-bought pudding.

Chocolate pudding ingredients array.

Chocolate Pudding Ingredients:
1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 cups (710 ml) whole milk
7 ounces (200 g) chocolate coarsely chopped – I have been really like Green & Black’s chocolate lately, and used a mix of their 85% Dark and Milk chocolates here
1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

Combine the first 4 ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Slowly pour in the whole milk, whisking as you go to ensure there are no lumps.

Heat the pudding base: Transfer this mixture to a saucepan, and heat over medium low. Stir occasionally to break up lumps. After 15 minutes, the pudding base will have thickened enough so that when you drag a finger across the back of a coated spatula a dry line will remain.

Mix in the chocolate: Remove from heat after mixture has thickened, and whisk in the chocolate and vanilla extract. Once all the ingredients are thoroughly combined, pour the pudding into individual serving containers (or into a single large bowl). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours.

Photo Apr 03, 2 56 50 PM

Whipped Cream Ingredients:
1 cup (710 ml) heavy cream
1/4 (31 g) powdered sugar
a few ounces dark chocolate, for shavings (optional)

Beat the cream: Using electric beaters (or by hand, if you are very strong and naive) beat the cream to soft peaks. It is best to start slowly so that you don’t splash cream all over your kitchen, and then kick up the speed as the cream thickens. Sift the powdered sugar over the cream, and continue to beat to fluffy medium peaks.

Serve: Spoon the whipped cream over the chocolate pudding. If desired, use a vegetable peeler to shave some impressive little chocolate sprinkles over the finished dessert.