I’m sure many of your diets have switched away from rich holiday meals and desserts to something a little more reasonable for every day life. I’ve been trying to do the same, but my mind keeps wandering back to sugary treats. I think I may have an addiction. I have a hard time going more than a day without something sweet to calm the cravings. It’s hard to believe that not too long ago I cut sugar and gluten completely from my diet.
One of the sweet visions that I go back to regularly are these Chocolate Marshmallows I made in December. There is nothing quite like a homemade marshmallow. Although you can see the resemblance to store bought, looks are really all they have in common. Homemade are much more flavourful, their texture light and fluffy. Unlike store bought, I could eat them as is, no need for anything else.
It was quite the adventure making these, not that the recipe is difficult, I was just having a particularly klutzy weekend. I made a batch and was about to unmold it when somehow I dropped the whole pan on the kitchen floor, sticky side down (of course). There is no 5 second rule when it comes to sticky marshmallow, I had to scoop it up in chunks with my hands, the whole thing ruined.
I still wanted marshmallows, so I made another batch. This time the entire marshmallow making process went off without a hitch.
Unfortunately the photo session didn’t turn out so well. I took a few shots like the one above then started to take photos of the marshmallows in a mug of hot chocolate. It was a gloomy day out, so I had a whiteboard set up to bounce some light onto the mug. I have no idea exactly what happened, but while I was shooting, the white board fell over onto the mug, causing it to topple over and the hot chocolate to spill. There was hot chocolate everywhere; on the table, the carpet, even on my parents upholstered dining room chairs. Disaster. After scrambling to clean it all up I decided there was only one thing to do: sit down and eat marshmallows.
Marshmallows make everything better.
Chocolate Marshmallows
(makes approx 36 marshmallows)
- 2 tablespoons gelatin
- 2/3 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup clear corn syrup
- 4 oz dark chocolate, melted
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- Line an 8 by 8 inch pan with plastic wrap and lightly grease the plastic.
- In a small sauce pan, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let the gelatin expand. Add the sugar to the pan and gently heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely.
- Pour the sugar and gelatin mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the corn syrup and then beat for 10 to 12 minutes until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Stir in the chocolate using a spatula to mix.
- Pour into the prepared pan spreading with a greased spatula. Refrigerate for about 1 hour until well set.
- Cover a work area with half the cocoa powder. Unmold the marshmallow onto the cocoa powder, then cut into squares using scissors or a pizza cutter. Cover each square with the remaining cocoa powder.
- Keep in a well sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days. (if they make it that long)
Enjoy!
What She's Having 
The marshmallows sound wonderful! The hard time you had finally getting them here on the blog… not so much lol.
Yum! Love marshmallows! And even though there’s only one pic it’s very nice :)
I’ve also knocked a white board onto what I’m photographing… not pretty! At least you had pretty marshmallows to make up for it!
I’m sorry about the spill. The marshmallows look fantastic though.
Oh, what a pain to have that happen after all that work! Well your photo at the top says it all and I agree.. just sit down and eat the marshmallows:)
I love homemade marshmallows…and you are right, they have amazing fixing powers! You definitely earned these ones :)
Thank goodness the second batch didn’t end up on the floor! They sound way too good for that!
These look nice! what kind of mold did you use? a silicone one? anyway, I wanted to subscribe to your blog through a reader and I’m having problems ie it doesn’t work – “This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it.” i’m not sure if it’s a problem with your feed or my browser. (haha)
I used a square pan, silicone would work too. I’ve contacted wordpress support about the rss feed. I’ll get back to you soon!
LOVED this post! 1. I have a sweets addiction too sister, you’re not the only one! 2. I can totally relate to being a klutz…. was cringing when I read your story. and 3. I want this chocolate marshmallows… like yesterday! lol
Oh my gosh!! These came out perfectly!! And I love that they’re CHOCOLATE!!
Oh drats! I hate spilling liquids because they seem to take forever to clean up and I keep finding bits I’ve missed. At least you had those yummy chocolate marshmallows to make everything better! I have always wanted to try making marshmallows and have just been a bit intimidated for some reason. Next time I have the thought, I will make these!
the first time I saw this marshmallows! looks amazing… i’ve never prepared before marshmallows and the diet restrictions doesn’t let me eat it (but i agree with you, I need sugar!), i will make it soon
I love the name of your blog and had to laugh because I just posted about When Harry Met Sally. :) http://eggton.com/2011/12/30/not-my-holiday-except-for-the-fortune-cookies/
These marshmallows look truly delicious. They make me want smores and hot chocolate at the same time.
First of all, those marshmallows look amazing! Second of all, congrats on persevering through all the hard work it took to finally get them done. Like I said, they look gorgeous!
I’ve been meaning to make my own homemade marshmallows for FOREVER now! Yours look so incredible and delicious!! Chocolate marshmallows just sound toooo good :)
Sad about the white board and hot chocolate catastrophe! That sucks. I too would have abandoned my camera and eaten marshmallows. They look great though, I love making marshmallows!
Lol, so glad you stuck out your klutzy day to share this recipe – they look delicious! I just ventured into homemade marshmallows a couple weeks ago, and you’re right, they are so much better!
I just made marshmallows for the first time last week! I could not believe how easy they were! I love your chocolate marshmallows. I will have to try these next!
Ok. These totally fit the diet because: Fat free, Meat Free & Portion Control. Boom.
For direction #3, where it says “Add the gelatin and then beat for 10 to 12 minutes until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Stir in the chocolate using a spatula to mix.” — was it supposed to be “add the corn syrup” and then stir in the dark chocolate (melted)? Please let me know, I can’t wait to try it out!
You’re right, it should have said corn syrup. I’ve updated the post. Thanks!
Ohhhh Yum! thats all I can say. I just cant stop looking at the photo.
Mmm, Yummy! And I like the picture, although we don’t have the whole process on tape but it still looks tempting!!!
I have never made marshmallows and really never gave much thought to the ingredients so I’m honestly surprised how few there are! I’m glad you stuck with it and that is one gorgeous photo you posted at the start, wow chocolate marshmallows, I’m very intrigued and will have to give your recipe a try, I promise to be very careful;-)
They look amazing!
You’re so right, there’s nothing so good as homemade marshmallows! Chocolate makes them even better. As you probably know we are professional food photographers, and if you will permit a word of encouragement from the pros, after your spill you did exactly the right thing, eat the product! Waste not want not, right? Hope the upholstery came clean though.
I hear you on the sugar addiction, I can’t seem to go a day without eating something sweet either. My poison of choice is usually chocolate in some form or another.
Marshmallows definitely do make everything better! I definitely eat store-bought on their own, so I’m sure I would love homemade. I just need to get around to making them! Thanks for the inspiration (and I’m sorry about all the drama they caused).
I just wanted to verify ..is it 2 teaspoons of gelatin or 2 Tablespoons (2 packages of Knox gelatin)
Thank you
;)
It should be two tablespoons. Thanks!