Vegan Marshmallows

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch
• 5 teaspoon powdered agar agar (not flavoured)
• 1/4 cup palm sugar (grate if in a block form)(see notes below)
• 2 Tablespoon glucose powder (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 1/2 Tablespoon soy protein isolate (see notes below)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon tartaric acid
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon gum (zanthan, guar or acacia)
• 6 Tablespoon cold water
• 2 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract

Instructions

1. Spray a 30 x 20cm (12 x 8 inch) Swiss roll pan well then dust with potato, corn or tapioca flour.
2. In a medium size saucepan place the sugar, cornflour, agar agar, palm sugar and powdered glucose, if using, and whisk until combined. Whisk in the water and heat, stirring, until the mixture comes to the boil. Cook at a rolling simmer for 15 minutes stirring from time to time. Remove saucepan from the heat and carefully add the vanilla essence (or peppermint or raspberry essences if wished - see notes below).
3. In the meantime, sift the dry ingredients into a medium size bowl. Add the water and beat until increased in volume and fluffy-ish (about 10 minutes). Set aside.
4. With electric beaters or cake mixer running, carefully pour 1 - 2 Tbsp of agar mixture into the fluffy mixture to slacken it. Add another 1 - 2 Tbsp of agar and repeat. Now you can safely pour the rest of the agar mixture in at a steady stream until it is all used up (this should take no longer than 2 minutes - any longer and the agar could start to jell). Continue beating the mixture until it is warmer than lukewarm and risen in volume (cooler than that and it will start setting in the bowl).
5. Spread into the prepared Swiss roll pan. Cover with a sheet of baking paper and press down lightly to smooth the surface and get mixture into the corners. Set aside to cool and firm up (about an hour).
6. To turn out, remove the baking paper. Dust a chopping board with potato, corn or tapioca flour or desiccated coconut. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Then holding the pan of marshmallow upside down above the dusted board give it a sharp jerk downwards keeping your fingers out of the way. The marshmallow will drop out onto the board. With a sharp knife cut the marshmallow into squares. Coat each individual square well with potato, corn or tapioca flour, cocoa powder or desiccated coconut.
7. The marshmallow is now ready to eat. If you want to keep it overnight leave it on a bench to air (covered with a paper napkin) at room temperature.
Varaiations:
8. Mint Marshmallows - Omit the vanilla essence/extract. Add 1 - 2 teaspoon peppermint essence/extract and tint the mixture pale green with a few drops of vegan friendly colouring.
9. Raspberry Marshmallows - Add 1 -2 teaspoons raspberry essence/extract until the marshmallow is pale pink.
10. Makes 40 - 50 marshmallows.
11. Tip: I prefer to use potato flour to coat the marshmallows. Potato starch liquefies at a low temperature so does not need further heat processing to cook the starch particles unlike cornflour.
12. Sage Advice: Don't attempt to make any sort of marshmallows (gelatin or non-gelatin ones) in damp weather as they won't be anywhere as successful as ones made on fine sunny days.

Notes