Since I had already made graham crackers for the Sugar Bar recipe and had some leftover, I asked your opinion on what to make next. One of the suggestions made on Instagram was Viva Puffs, so I decided to tackle making homemade marshmallows. Making marshmallows is a scary process involving pouring hot sugar into a moving mixer and is not recommended for beginners. However, once you're comfortable making them, it's an extremely rewarding experience. This base recipe is versatile as it allows you to mix in a variety of flavoured extracts and food colouring. 

INGREDIENTS 

• 17g Gelatin Leaves or Powdered Gelatin 
• Cold Water 
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Light Corn Syrup 
• 4 Egg Whites (Room Temp) 
• Pinch of Salt 
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Cup Corn Starch
• 3/4 Cup Icing Sugar

DIRECTIONS 

1. Add gelatin leaves to 2 cups of cold water or powdered gelatin powder to 1/2 cup of water. Set aside. 
2. Add sugar, corn syrup and 1/3 cup of water to a saucepan on medium heat. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add egg whites. With the whisk attachment on low, mix until frothy. 
4. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites. 
5. When the sugar syrup reaches 99°C, increase the speed of the mixer to high and whisk the egg whites until fluffy.
6. When the sugar syrup reaches 118°C, with mixer still on high, slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites, aiming for between the whisk and the bowl. (CAUTION: The sugar syrup is extremely hot. Be very careful when pouring it into the mixer) 
7. With the mixer still running, add the soaked gelatin leaves plus 2 tbsp of water, or the powdered gelatin water mixture, to your now empty sugar syrup pot. The residual heat from the pot will gently dissolve the gelatin. (Do not put the pot back on the stove) 
8. Slowly pour the melted gelatin mixture into the mixer between the whisk and the bowl. 
9. Add vanilla or other flavourings of your choice and continue whipping on high until the outside of the bowl feels cool to the touch. This could take up to 10 minutes. 
10. Combine corn starch and icing sugar in a bowl. 
11. Dust parchment paper with corn starch and sugar mixture so there are no bare spots. This will help your marshmallows not stick to the paper. 
12. If you would like square marshmallows, spread into an even layer in a 9x13" pan. After waiting 4 hours-overnight, you can then remove from the pan and cut into squares with clean scissors. 
13. If you would like to make marshmallows for Viva Puffs, pipe the marshmallow mixture onto the powdered paper in a circle shape. Let dry for 4-hours-overnight as well. 
14. After drying, you will then want to toss your marshmallows in the leftover corn starch/icing sugar mixture to prevent any sticking. 
15. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

VIVA PUFFS

If you're interested in making Viva Puffs, please visit my Instagram page (@leahthebakerottawa) and click on "Marshmallows" in my Highlights. 

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE

This recipe was adapted from www.davidlebovitz.com