Marshmallow Sauce

My love of marshmallows began with my father - he loves all varieties of marshmallows but his favorite is marshmallow fluff. He would make us marshmallow fluff and peanut butter sandwiches which to this day I do  not even care for the smell of and put generous dollops of fluff in our hot chocolate, and he would give my siblings and I big spoonfuls to eat straight off the spoon.  The smell of a bag of jet puffed marshmallows brings back so many memories. I have always seen marshmallow sauce offered at various ice cream parlors but never tried it.  After the many times of making hot fudge for homemade vanilla ice cream and looking for a change I decided marshmallow sauce was the perfect compliment for my homemade chocolate ice cream.  Making homemade marshmallows has always intrigued me.  This sauce is delicious but don't count on the traditional packaged marshmallow flavor - it more subtle and simple or a more pure flavor. My family loves it!

Marshmallow Sauce
Makes around 3 cups

3/4 cup cold water
1 envelope or 1/4 ounce of unflavored powdered gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 and  1/2 large egg whites
Optional dash of salt
1  1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Pour 1/2 cup of cold water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top - making sure it is wet and set aside. 
In a small heavy duty sauce pan fitted with a candy thermometer add the remaining 1/4 cup of water, sugar, and corn syrup and mix together.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of and stand mixer fitted with the balloon whisk.
Bring the sugar syrup to a boil watching the candy thermometer.
When the thermometer reaches 225F start beating the egg whites with the salt or I add a pinch of sugar as I don't like the flavor of the salt.
Beat egg whites until stiff.
When the syrup reaches 240F pour the hot syrup into the the bowl in a slow stream while the mixer is on medium high trying to avoid the whisk and the side of the bowl as the syrup will stick and string.
When the syrup has been mixed into the egg whites add the gelatin and 1/4 cup of the gelatin water to the saucepan to melt the gelatin with remaining heat in the pan. I have used the entire 1/2 cup of water to just scraping the gelatin into the pan and a prefer the softness of using 1/4 cup of the gelatin water.
Add the gelatin mixture to the egg whites and sugar syrup and beat until cool.
Whip in the vanilla..

Best if used right away and for a 2 days in the refrigerator.




Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz