Vegan Marshmallows

Every time I bake something my girlfriend requests that I make it vegan. I usually just scoff at her and remark that "You're not even vegan! I don't think you're even vegetarian. No!" At which point she typically counters that "vegan deserts are yummy."

So, the other day when I got it in my head to make kosher marshmallows, her months of pestering finally bore fruit and I thought to myself, "What is more kosher than vegan?"

But how does a person make vegan marshmallows? One quick Google search answered this question with an awesome "open-source recipe." This recipe resulted in one mighty good marshmallow (vegan or not).

I present to you this gift of marshmallow goodness that those of the strictest dietary preference and religious convictions can enjoy. It doesn't matter if you are vegan, vegetarian, pescaterian, Presbytarian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Jedi.

Warning: This is a fast moving and messy process. This is not for the faint of heart.

Ingredients

You will need:

For the fluff

5 tablespoons soy protein isolate 90%
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon xantham gum
3/4 cup cold water

For the goo

1.5 cups raw sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Genutine Vegetarian Gelatin (if you happen to be in SF, make an appointment and go to the showroom. It is awesome).
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For coating

vegetable oil (to coat pan)
2 tablespoons vegan powdered sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch

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Powdered Sugar Mix

Mix together your two tablespoons of powdered sugar and your two tablespoons of corn starch.

Prep the Pan

Lightly oil the pan and then heavily dust it with your powdered sugar mixture.

Put aside the extra powdered sugar mixture for step 8.

Make the Fluff

The fluff is easy to make. In your standing mixer add all of the dry ingredients which include 5 tablespoons soy protein isolate, 2 teaspoons Baking Powder and 1/4 teaspoon xantham gum. Mix those together with the whisk attachment. Then add 3/4 cup cold water and let mix for another 10 minutes until you see the mixture start to stiffen and rise a tiny bit.

Make the Goo

The goo is the tricky part. Once you start to make this, there is no stopping until step 7. The next few things happen very fast because as soon as you take the goo off the flame, it starts to stiffen immediately.

That said, in a sauce pan mix a tablespoon of vegetarian gelatin with 1.5 cups of raw sugar. Add 1/2 a cup of water while whisking briskly and then add a cup of corn syrup while doing the same. Use a candy thermometer and heat until 230 degrees, all the while stirring your mixture. You will see it start to bubble and thicken dramatically.

Turn off the heat, quickly stir in the vanilla and without hesitating for a moment, proceed to the next step.

Mix

If your mixer has a splash guard, I highly recommend using it. Even with the splash guard the goo got everywhere.

Turn your machine on to its highest setting and while it's spinning around, pour in the goo before it starts to harden too much. Try to pour it into the side of the pan so it doesn't cling to/climb up the whisk attachment and gunk up the mixer. Although, from my experience, it is going to do this any which way and this hard to avoid.

After 30 seconds to a minute, turn off the machine and use a rubber scraper to mix in any goo clinging to the sides of the bowl.

Let the mixer run for another 10 to 15 minutes until it looks and tastes like marshmallows.

(When cleaning up later, hot water will take the hardened marshmallow goo off of your standing mixture like a charm.)

Spread in Pan

Roll the marshmallow into the pan and spread it thin. The open-source recipe this is based on recommends using wax paper to push it down and make it lay flat. I recommend not to do that as it created a total mess and was a disaster. Instead, coat a wooden spoon in your sugar/corn starch mixture and spread it out that way.

Refrigerate for an hour.

Cut 'em Up

Cut your marshmallows into squares and coat them on all sides with the powder sugar mixture from step 2.

Enjoy!

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