It's no secret that marshmallows are my favourite candy. I love them dearly, no matter what flavour they have - fruit, coffee, mint, gingerbread; you name it, chances are I already tried and loved them. These are my favourites for hot cocoa - light coffee and cinnamon flavours really mix and mingle well with cocoa.
Now, coffee I love, but since I can't have it, these little candy clouds are just right for me. You can just roll them into icing sugar, or do what I did, and add a teaspoon of dark cocoa powder (or hot cocoa mix) to the icing sugar. Makes them even more delicious.
Ingredients
For the marshmallows
400 grams sugar
200 grams honey
250 ml cold water, divided
7 teaspoons (21 grams) unflavoured gelatine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
For the coating
100 grams icing sugar
50 grams cornflour (corn starch)
Preparation
Before you start, make sure everything is prepared. Sift together the icing sugar and the cornflour twice and set it aside. Take a 23x23 cm (9x9”) pan, grease the bottom and sides, and dust it with the sifted icing sugar and cornflour. Set the pan aside. In a bowl of your stand mixer, or simply a large mixing bowl, pour half of the water (120 ml), sprinkle in the gelatine and set it aside for about 10 minutes, so the gelatine can bloom. Mix together the sugar, honey and the rest of the cold water in a heavy saucepan and place it over medium high heat. Let it come to a boil, then let it boil for 8 minutes (candy thermometer should reach about 115°C (240°F)). Do not stir while the syrup is cooking. Once it's ready, remove the pan carefully from the heat and pour it over the gelatine, then mix on lowest speed until gelatine is dissolved. Gradually bring the speed up, being very careful about the syrup, because it is extremely hot and it will cause burns if it splashes.
Beat the mixture with an electric mixer on the highest setting you have until it becomes very thick and fluffy, about 10-12 minutes for a stand mixer, or 15-20 minutes for a hand-held one. During the mixing, add the vanilla, coffee and cinnamon. When the mixture has tripled in volume and has become thick, pour it quickly into the prepared pan and level the top. Sift a bit of icing sugar and cornflour evenly over the top. Let the marshmallows sit at room temperature for at least 6 hours, but best overnight. Dust the work surface with the icing sugar and cornflour mixture, then run a thin knife around the edges of the pan and invert the marshmallow on the surface. Dust the top side with icing sugar and cut marshmallow into small cubes. Roll the marshmallows in the icing sugar and cornflour mixture on all sides, shake off the excess and serve. Yields about 64 small marshmallow cubes.
