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These chai flavoured marshmallows are infused with the classic spiced tea. An easy twist to bring warming spices into homemade marshmallows. These chai tea flavoured marshmallows are just like a chai tea latte in marshmallow form!
What is Chai Tea?
So chai is a Hindi word that technically just means 'tea'. But, generally when chai is referred to in Britain or the US, it tends to denote a mixed-spice flavour, which is 'masala'.
The mixed spices used in masala chai are usually cardamon and ginger, with various other warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel, anise and clove.
One of the more common ways to find masala chai flavour in the US and UK is the chai tea latte - a milky drink with a mixed spice base. I like to think of these chai tea flavoured marshmallows as chai tea lattes in marshmallow form!
Chai Tea Flavoured Marshmallows
Key Ingredient - Strong Brewed Chai Tea
The key ingredient to these chai tea flavoured marshmallows is the chai tea!
In order to ensure the flavour is well infused into the marshmallows, this recipe starts by making a strong brew.
I used Teapigs Chai Tea for my marshmallows.
Place a couple of bags of chai tea into a heatproof jug with 1¼ cup of boiling water. Allow to brew for about 10 minutes before removing the bags and allowing the strong tea to cool completely.
Ingredients for Homemade Marshmallows
For these marshmallow you will need:
- Egg whites - these will be cooked by the sugar syrup, so no need to worry about raw egg!
- Gelatine leaves - leaf gelatine is very common in the UK, however, in the US, you may prefer to use powdered gelatine. If that is the case, you can substitute the eight leaves of gelatine with about 6 teaspoons of gelatine powder.
- Sugar - both caster (granulated) sugar and also powdered icing sugar for dusting.
- Liquid glucose or light corn syrup.
- Cornstarch (also referred to as cornflour) - used along with the powdered sugar for dusting.
- Your strong brewed and cooled chai tea.
Making Homemade Marshmallows
The process for making these marshmallows can be broken down into stages:
1. Soaking Gelatine
In order to incorporate your gelatine later in the recipe, you need to first soak this.
If you are using gelatine leaves, you can simply pour the cool liquid over the leaves and leave to soak in a bowl.
If you use powdered gelatine, the process is essentially the same, however, you should place the water in the bowl first and then sprinkle the powdered gelatine evenly over top.
2. Whisking Egg Whites
In my recipe, I call for using an electric stand mixer. This is just a convenience. You could also do this with a handheld electric whisk.
Before you begin working with the sugar syrup, it is useful to whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks - this will save you a little time at the later stage.
For soft peaks, you are looking for the egg whites to be quite foamy and holding a shape when the beater is removed. At the stage of soft peaks, the mixture doesn't need to be glossy and the shape doesn't need to stay firm (the peaks can fall back on themselves a bit).
Once you've reached this point, set the egg whites aside and turn attention to the sugar syrup.
3. Making Chai Tea Sugar Syrup
The sugar syrup for marshmallows is important for creating the glossy stiff peaked egg white meringue. It is actually very simple to make, but does require a bit of patience and ideally a sugar thermometer.
Place the sugar, tea and glucose (or corn syrup) into a saucepan. Cook this over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. This takes around 10 minutes.
Then continue cooking and boiling over the medium high heat, checking with a sugar thermometer for the temperature to register 265°F (130C).
Once the syrup reaches temperature, remove from the heat and slip the soaked gelatine into the boiling syrup.
This process will cause the mixture to bubble up and froth a bit, so be careful of the boiling hot syrup. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved.
4. Whisking Marshmallows
Return the whisk to the egg white bowl and beat on high until becoming glossy and stiff peaks forms. Then slowly add the sugar syrup while continuing to beat.
Once all of the syrup has been added, allow this to beat for about 10 minutes. The mixture should become thicker and glossier. While it beats, prepare your tray.
5. Preparing the Tray for Marshmallows
Marshmallows are extremely sticky, especially before they have set. To ensure that you can get these out of the tray to slice, it is best to line this with cling film.
Start by lightly greasing the 9" square baking tray. This will help you to more easily press the cling film into the tray to line it. Use two long strips of cling film and crisscross these to cover the bottom and sides of the square tray.
Sift together the cornflour and powdered sugar. Dust the bottom and sides of the tray with a third of this and then reserve the rest for later.
6. Pouring and Setting
After you've whipped your marshmallows for about 10 minutes - until the mixture is cooler, thick and glossy - it is time to pour this into your prepared tray and spread evenly with a spatula.
You will now need to leave this to set at room temperature for about two hours.
Tips for Slicing Chai Tea Marshmallows
After about two hours, your marshmallows should be nicely set. One of the charms of homemade marshmallows is that these are softer than store bought, so don't be alarmed if they feel a bit bouncier than the average Jet Puffed.
Start by dusting the top with another third of the cornflour mixture. Then tip this out onto a piece of parchment paper and carefully pull away the cling film.
You will want to use a large, sharp knife to slice these. I recommend oiling the knife with the same flavorless oil that you greased your tray with. This can be done by putting a bit of oil on a piece of paper towel and carefully rubbing this along the flat sides of the knife near the blade.
Slice your marshmallows in squares - this recipe makes about 25 nice jumbo marshmallows, but you can cut them in different shapes or sizes if you'd prefer. Re-oil the blade as you go whenever it feels like it is sticking too much.
Dredge each piece of marshmallow in the remaining third of the cornflour mixture and then serve!
FAQs for Homemade Marshmallows Flavored with Chai Tea
These marshmallows will keep for a few days, but they are best and freshest on the day they are made! Store in an air tight container to preserve their freshness. After a day, the coating of powdered sugar and cornflour may give your marshmallows a bit of a crustiness to the outside, but this will not impact the overall flavour and they are still perfectly fine to use and eat.
No, the process of pouring the hot sugar syrup into the egg white meringue will effectively cook this as it whips and they should not be harmful.
So, unfortunately, if the marshmallows haven't set at the time you go to slice them, there isn't really anything you can do. This could be due to not using enough gelatine for the amount of liquid you're trying to set. More likely, it will be due to not whisking until stiff peaks before adding the sugar syrup and then not whisking long enough once this is added. When making marshmallows, it is far more difficult to over mix than under mix, so when in doubt, let your meringue or marshmallow continue whisking for an extra minute or two!
Fortunately though, if you have some un-set marshmallows, this is essentially just homemade marshmallow fluff - you can still use it as a topping for other desserts and it will still taste great, though it won't be the airy texture you expect from a marshmallow.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Chai Tea Marshmallows
Equipment
- 9" square pan
- Sugar thermometer
- Cling film/plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup strong brewed masala chai tea, cooled
- 2¼ cup caster sugar
- 8 gelatine leaves or 6 teaspoons of powdered gelatine
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tablespoon liquid glucose or light corn syrup
- flavorless oil (such as vegetable or sunflower)
- ½ cup powdered icing sugar
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch or cornflour
Instructions
- Begin by brewing your strong chai tea. Place two tea bags in a large heatproof jug and pour boiled water over these. Leave to sit for about 10 minutes and then remove the tea bags. Place in the refrigerator to cool for about 30 minutes (this is factored in to the prep time).
- Place your gelatine leaves in a bowl and cover with ½ cup of your brewed tea. Leave to soak and soften for at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of an standing mixer fitted with a whisk. Beat these to soft peaks form and set aside.
- In a deep sided saucepan, add the sugar, liquid glucose and remaining ¾ cup of strong tea. Bring this to a boil over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking over the medium high heat until this syrup reaches 265°F (130C).
- Once the syrup reaches the required temperature, remove from the heat and carefully add the soaked gelatine. Take care as the mixture will bubble up and is very hot! Stir until the gelatine has dissolved.
- Return the electric whisk to the egg white and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Then, slowly begin pouring the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites, while continuing to whisk.
- Allow the mixture to continue beating on high for about 10 minutes, until it has begun to thicken and cool.
- While the marshmallow beats, line a 9" square deep sided baking tray with cling film and grease this with flavorless oil.
- Stir together the cornstarch and powdered sugar. Sift about ⅓ of this mixture into the prepared tray, covering the base and sides in a layer.
- Once the marshmallows have been beating for about 10 minutes and are noticeably thickened, pour this into the prepared baking tray and smooth with a spatula. Leave to set for about two hours.
- After two hours, sift another ⅓ of the cornstarch mixture over the top and tip out onto a piece of parchment paper. Remove the plastic wrap.
- Oil the blade of a large, sharp knife and slice the marshmallows as desired. Re-oil between slices or whenever you feel the blade is becoming sticky. Dredge the pieces in the remaining ⅓ of the cornflour mixture.
queenmothermyrt
Two of my favorite things rolled into one!! 😀 Love them and you!! 😀 xoxoxoxoxoxox