Marshmallow Making

We've been intending to make marshmallows for ages so when we were offered the chance to try out Sainsbury's Marshmallow Making Kit we were keen to give it a go.









Having checked the ingredients in the kit, we were delighted to find they were the same as those that are used in the recipes we had seen online.  This is the recipe we were going to use if we'd cooked them without the kit.

There are quite a few steps, detailed well on the box, and we took lots of pictures. 

Following the instructions, we placed the contents of the sugar sachet in a pan, added 175ml cold water, mixed it well and then put it on the hob to boil.  Once boiling, the heat was reduced and the solution was left to simmer for 10 minutes.

Whilst the sugar was simmering, the 21cm by 21cm tray was lined with clingfilm.  Next, the sides and bottom were dusted with half of the icing sugar mix sachet.

Following the directions, we added the gelatine to a bowl, topped with 100ml boiling water and left it for 5 minutes.  After this time, it was whisked on high until it was frothy.

As soon as the gelatine mix was frothy, the sugar solution was VERY carefully added...

... and whisked for 10 minutes.  We draped a tea towel over the hand mixer and bowl to minimist the risk of splishes and splashes of the "INCREDIBLY hot sugary stuff."



After ten minutes of whisking, the mix was white and had cooled well, we poured it into the clingfilm lined tin.  Adding a dusting of the icing sugar mix to the top, before we placed some more clingfilm on top before chilling in the fridge.

The next day we removed the marshmallow from the tin and then marked the surface ready for cutting.  Sainsbury's packet says the kit makes 12 squares but we made 36!

Dusting the knife with icing sugar, we carefully cut the marshmallow slab up and rolled each strip in icing sugar to stop stickiness.  The slices were then cut, again, into bite-sized chunks which were also dusted in more icing sugar.

We had poured a small portion of the mallow mix onto another clingfilmed and dusted tray and we cut this into Seasonal shapes.

Sous Chef J had fun working out which cutters to use and particularly enjoyed the 'cooks reward' of the leftover marshmallow bits!





We bagged up some of the marshmallows in cellophane bags which will be given as gifts.

This was a fun activity (but the sugar solution does get very hot, so we'd recommend an adult does this part) and the marshmallows are delicious.  We'll definitely make these again and liked that the kit provided the ingredients we needed "without faffing about with measuring stuff out."

Disclosure - we were sent a marshmallow making kit by Sainsbury's but were not required to write a positive blog post about it.  All views are our own.

Almondy Sundae

We have long been fans of Almondy frozen 'cakes'... and the Toblerone version is a particular favourite.  Having seen a number of tweets from Almondy, tempting us with their fare, we decided to give our own twist to a gluten free Sundae.

The ingredients we used to 'assemble' the dessert were - Almondy Toblerone (one slice), Swedish Glace Vanilla Ice, mini marshmallows, chocolate buttons (and chocolate sauce or cream can be used too).

A couple of small scoops of the vanilla ice were placed in each bowl.

A slice of the Almondy cake was chopped into three, then cut into small pieces which were added to the bowl.

Next, some mini marshmallows were sprinkled over...

... before adding the giant chocolate buttons (chocolate sprinkles, stars or curls could also be used).

Adding the Eskal Wafer Rolls (and a drizzle of chocolate sauce or dollop of cream, if you like) and our speedy dessert was ready.

We have been trying to get Ocado to stock Almondy as, for us, it's the easiest way to get our frozen goods delivered.  No news on this yet... but the request(s) have been made!  All the other items used to make this dessert came from Ocado so to be able to buy a 'bundle' of all these ingredients would be FAB...