Homemade Marshmallows with Apple and Cinnamon

Homemade marshmallows with apple and cinnamon are the ultimate treat: soft, bouncy, squidgy, squishy, light as air, cloud-like. Gorgeous hunks.

Have you spotted my pumpkin spice marshmallows? They are heavenly.

Drum roll please…. homemade marshmallows with apple and cinnamon are finally here. If you have never made marshmallow before, I’m going to make you a promise: if you make these you will not be disappointed.

Homemade marshmallows are big, soft, gorgeous hunky chunks that are the ultimate bouncy, squidgy, squishy, light as air, cloud-like sweet treat. My version just happens to include a hint of apple & a kick of cinnamon. Resistance is futile.

Up until a year ago I’d never made marshmallow. I hadn’t even realised that a homemade version was remotely achievable or sensible to attempt.

Then I bought Sweet Things by Annie Rigg and well, I couldn’t stop myself.

The book is full of achingly beautiful photography and quality recipes. I started off with Annie’s vanilla marshmallows dunked in chocolate & various toppings. Then I moved onto her gingerbread mallows which are divinely spiced clouds of sweet joy, perfect for topping a cosy hot chocolate during the autumn.

After these successful dalliances with marshmallow, I confess, I was hooked.

How do homemade marshmallows compare to store-bought marshmallows?

The difference between regular shop-bought and homemade marshmallows is startling. Homemade wins hands down on every level:

• looks
• taste
• texture

There really is no comparison.

And of course, homemade can also be tweaked to suit your latest whim. You can:

• create your own flavours
• colour them how you wish
• dip them in chocolate and toppings

What equipment do I need to make marshmallows at home?

Before I go further, let me make it clear that you do not need fancy equipment to make these apple and cinnamon marshmallows at home.

I’m a self-confessed owner of very few kitchen gadgets. When I first made these mallows I did not own a free-standing mixer. Instead I used my Kenwood K-Mix and all of its’ 350w of power.

Initially, I was sceptical. Could I achieve success with just handheld beaters? Well yes. It required a bit of patience since this recipe does take 5-10 minutes of beating. But I did succeed.

That said, I do now own a free-standing mixer and I can confirm that making marshmallows in this is preferable. I can leave my mixer to get on with its job while I get on with other tasks.

In short, you can make marshmallows with either hand-held beaters or a free-standing mixer.

However, please bear in mind that some mixers are more powerful than others. I used a handheld Kenwood K-Mix with 350w power (full speed all the way). If your mixer is more or less powerful than this, you may need to whisk the batter for less or more time accordingly.

And just a gentle word of warning regarding equipment – respect it. If you think your mixer is too old or low on power be careful – you don’t want it to overheat.

Tips for Making Marshmallows

Homemade marshmallows are not complicated to make. But it pays to be organised before you start:

• Read the instructions fully before you start and prepare as much as you can before you commence cooking
• Measure everything out into bowls & pans before you begin
• Do not get side-tracked. Marshmallows demand around 30 minutes of your undivided attention. Pick a time of day when you will not get distracted by family, emails, telephone calls, etc….
• Expect a little mess. Put on some old clothes and tie up long hair (honestly, do tie up that hair… speaks the voice of sticky experience)
• Do not attempt to make marshmallows with small children. This is not a child-friendly recipe as you will be making a very hot sugar syrup
• Make the effort to find liquid glucose. It is the addition of this that prevents the sugar in the marshmallows from crystallising
• Do take care not to pour the syrup onto your whisk since this could cause your whisk to seize as the syrup sets and you’ll get sharp pieces of set syrup in your marshmallow
• You must ensure that you whisk the marshmallow batter sufficiently. If you do not whisk it for long enough then the resulting marshmallow will ‘weep’ after it has been cut and dusted. Yuck
• Work quickly and whisk the batter until it is glossy and relatively thick, but still workable – you need to be able to transfer it to a tin and level off the surface before it cools too much
• Once the marshmallows are cut and dusted, allow them to sit for around an hour to ‘dry out’ further before storing them

As these tips suggest, there’s really nothing much to making marshmallows apart from organisation and the patience to whisk the batter sufficiently.

Instructions

The list of steps for making these apple marshmallows with cinnamon may look long, but each stage is relatively short and not complex:

• Prepare a baking tin by greasing the base and sides with oil and lining with baking parchment
• Sift the icing sugar and cornflour together and use approximately ¼ to lightly dust the baking parchment
• Put the gelatin leaves into a bowl of cold water and leave to soften
• Tip the egg white, 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar and the salt into a large bowl
• Pour the rest of the caster sugar, the liquid glucose and the apple juice into a saucepan. Cook over a moderate heat, until the sugar dissolves then bring to the boil and continue to cook until the syrup reaches 120°C/ 248°F on a sugar thermometer
• As the syrup approaches 115°C/ 240°F, whisk the egg whites until stiff
• As soon as the syrup reaches the specified temperature, take the pan off the heat. Drain the gelatin, add to the syrup and stir until completely dissolved
• With the electric whisk running, steadily pour the syrup into the egg whites, taking care NOT to pour it onto the whisk
• Once the syrup has been added, continue to whisk for 3-4 minutes
• Add the cinnamon and a dab of food colouring (if using) and whisk for a further 1-2 minutes until thick, glossy and stiff
• Use a rubber spatula to spoon the marshmallow into the prepared tin and level the top with a palette knife

1. Leave to set in a cool place for 2 hours, then cover with clingfilm and leave for 4 more hours
2. Dust a large baking tin with the remaining icing sugar & cornflour mix. Tip the set marshmallow onto this tin and peel off the baking parchment. Use a sharp knife to cut it into squares and dust all sides in the sugar & cornflour
3. Leave to ‘dry out’ for a further hour, then store in an airtight container for up to 5 days

Follow the recipe carefully (full details in the recipe card below) and you’ll soon be enjoying delicately flavoured, light as a feather hunky chunks of homemade apple and cinnamon marshmallows too. They are pillows of joy.

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Have you made this recipe? Let me know how you got along by leaving a comment or rating review or posting your creation on Instagram tagging @jane_littlesugarsnaps or use #littlesugarsnaps.