I have the following peppermint marshmallow recipe that I know works well:
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting the marshmallows' surface and the work surface
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored powdered gelatin (3 to 4 packages)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup crushed peppermint pinwheel hard candies
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 or 4 drops peppermint oil (optional)
- 2 or 3 drops red liquid food color (optional)
(Source)
I would like to convert this to raspberry marshmallows. My current intuition is to change out 1/3 cup crushed peppermint pinwheels for a strained raspberry puree and perhaps increase the corn syrup, but I am not sure this will work and don't know how much time I'll have messing around with the mass on the stove to get the exact sweetness right. I also could use raspberry oil (when I've made the peppermint version I left both oil and food coloring out). I'd like to have a pretty strong raspberry flavor.
The original recipe dipped the finished marshmallows in 55-65% cacao chocolate. Am I right in thinking that a darker chocolate would be better for raspberry if I can figure this out?
Best Answer
The easy way: Use raspberry oil (preferably) or a raspberry extract in place of the peppermint oil.
The (probably) much better way: Leave out the oil and food coloring and use raspberry puree as you suggested. Strain frozen or fresh raspberries through a fine strainer or cheese cloth. Weigh the resulting juice/puree and then put it on the stove an cook it until the puree is half of its original weight (roughly). This reduced puree will be more intensely raspberry, so it will get all of the raspberry flavor without having to add as much water to the recipe. You'll have to experiment with the amount of reduced raspberry puree to use.
I wouldn't increase the corn syrup, but you certainly could if you want them sweeter. I would personally go for the opposite effect and add a small amount of lemon juice to the raspberry puree to give a little tartness to complement the sweetness of the marshmallow.
As far as the chocolate, I would recommend a darker chocolate. 55% is quite sweet, especially around a marshmallow. You should also consider the type of chocolate. Cocoa percentage isn't everything in dark chocolate. Experiment with different types of chocolate and see what fits well with the marshmallows. Just like wine, chocolate should be paired with other foods according to the subtleties of the taste of the individual chocolate.