Who else loves pumpkin spice? Tis the season! So presenting my new pumpkin spice marshmallows. These homemade marshmallows are light, airy and loaded with pumpkin spice. Enjoy them on their own or try them in a quick pumpkin spice s'more for the ultimate campfire treat!
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Ingredient Notes
This recipe is similar to my chai marshmallows and calls for:
- Gelatine - you can use gelatine leaves or unflavoured powdered gelatine in this recipe. I've provided the measurements for both options in the recipe card below.
- Water - tap water is fine here. It should be cool, but doesn't require being chilled.
- Egg whites - from large eggs, ideally at room temperature.
- Pumpkin Spice - either the store bought prepared spice mix or you can make your own with a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Another alternative, in the UK, is Mixed Spice. This is a fairly similar spice mix that works as a reasonable substitute to pumpkin spice in most recipes.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows
For more tips on lining a square pan in preparation for the marshmallows, see my Chai Tea flavoured marshmallows.
There are three key stages to a homemade marshmallow:
- Gelatine Preparation
- Whisked Egg Whites
- Sugar Syrup
1. Prepare Gelatine for Marshmallows
In order to incorporate gelatine into your recipe, whether you are using powdered or leaf, this must first be softened. This is a simple step, but does require you to set the gelatine in a bowl of water (half a cup) for about 10 minutes. Start your recipe by placing the gelatine to be soaked and you can carry on with other steps while it soaks.
Don't worry if you end up leaving the gelatine soaking longer than 10 minutes - this won't be a problem!
2. Whisking Egg Whites
The key ingredient to light and fluffy marshmallow is whisked egg whites. These are the basis for the marshmallow - so it is very important that they are whisked well.
To begin with, while your gelatine is soaking and before you start on your sugar syrup (as this will take some attention), whisk your egg whites to soft peaks.
Soft peaks for eggs look like thick white foam. If you under whisk, you may struggle at later stages to reach stiff peaks and set marshmallows.
When you've gotten to the soft peak stage, you can set this aside and focus on the sugar syrup.
3. Sugar Syrup
The sugar syrup serves several functions to the marshmallow. It acts to:
- Add the sweetness.
- Ensure the egg whites are cooked and safe.
- Melt the gelatine and incorporate this into the rest of the mix.
Simply add your sugar, remaining water and liquid glucose to a saucepan.
Cook this over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Once at a rolling boil, check occasionally with a sugar thermometer until it reaches 265F (130C).
When your syrup reaches temperature, remove from the heat and slip the softened gelatine in, along with the soaking liquid. Be careful as this will bubble up a lot initially! Stir to dissolve.
Putting it all together
When your syrup is ready, return to your egg whites and begin beating these on a medium-high setting until they are stiff peaks. Slowly pour the hot syrup into this as you are beating (best to pour down the side of the bowl away from the beaters to avoid splatter).
Continue beating on high until thick, glossy and cool. This will take about 10 minutes. About halfway through, add 1 teaspoon of your pumpkin spice to the mix.
While the mixture is beating, combine the cornstarch, powdered icing sugar and remaining teaspoon of spice. Dust the bottom and sides of your lined baking tin, using about a third of the cornstarch mix. Reserve the rest.
Pour the mixture into the tin and leave to sit for two hours to set up.
Once set, dust the top with more of the cornstarch mix and flip out onto a piece of parchment. Slice into cubes with an oiled knife and dredge in the remaining cornstarch mix.
Top Tips
- Avoid undermixing your egg whites. These are the key to your homemade pumpkin marshmallows. If the egg whites aren't well whisked before adding the sugar syrup, these won't set up firm and will become soupy. See the image above for what these should look like.
- Pour the sugar syrup down the side of the mixing bowl while you continue beating. This helps you steadily incorporate the hot syrup while avoiding splatter from the beaters. This will leave a trail of syrup on the side of the bowl, but don't worry, it'll still do the trick!
- When slicing marshmallows, use a well oiled sharp knife. Don't avoid re-oiling as you go, or this will quickly become sticky!
Serving as Pumpkin Spice S'mores
These easy homemade pumpkin spice marshmallows are perfect to use in quick campfire s'mores. For these autumnal s'mores, you will need a dry crisp cookie. I like to use Lotus Biscoff cookies, but the traditional graham cracker will work too. Plus, some chocolate of your choosing.
Skewer your marshmallow and hold over a campfire or embers from a bbq until toasted. Sandwich with the biscuits and chocolate and enjoy!
FAQs
Marshmallows in general are freshest on the day, but they can be kept for a day or two in a sealed container. These pumpkin spice marshmallow may dry out a bit on the edges due to being dredged in the spice, cornstarch and powdered sugar.
Classic campfire s'mores really need to be made fresh when consuming. You can make the marshmallows a day or so in advance and they're easy to transport. You should toast them only when ready to make and eat the s'mores.
Yes! If you want some quick s'mores without a campfire, you can easily use a kitchen torch. For best results, skewer the marshmallow and toast this lightly around with the torch before sandwiching in the same way as campfire toasted s'mores.
Looking for more Fall favorites? Try:
- Pumpkin Pound Cake
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Mini Bundt Cakes
- No Bake S'mores Cheesecake
- Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats
Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows
Equipment
- 8" square baking tray
- Sugar thermometer
- Plastic wrap/cling film
Ingredients
- 8 gelatine leaves or 6 teaspoons of unflavored powdered gelatine
- 1¼ cup cool water
- 2¼ cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid glucose or light corn syrup
- 2 egg whites
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix or mixed spice
- flavourless oil such as sunflower oil or vegetable oil
- ½ cup powdered sugar or icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch
Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice S'mores (optional serving suggestion)
- Lotus Biscoff Biscuits
- Chocolate (Hershey's or Cadbury's chocolate buttons work well)
Instructions
- Begin by lining the baking tin with cling film and greasing this with some unflavoured oil. Set aside.
- Soak your gelatine in ½ cup water for 10 minutes to soften or bloom.
- Meanwhile, using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat your egg whites to soft peaks and set aside.
- In a saucepan, mix together sugar, remaining water and liquid glucose. Stir together and heat over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then continue cooking over a medium high heat until the sugar syrup reaches 265°F (130C) on a sugar thermometer.
- Once the syrup has reached temperature, remove and add your soaked gelatine (along with the soaking liquid). Be careful because the mixture will bubble up initially before settling. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved and the syrup is smooth.
- Return to whisking the egg whites on a medium-high setting until the peaks begin stiffening. Slowly pour the syrup in down the side of the bowl while continuing to whisk and beat on medium-high until thick, glossy and cool (about 10 minutes). About halfway through (so after 5-6 minutes) add in a teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.
- While the marshmallow is mixing, combine the powdered sugar, cornflour and remaining teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix. Use about a third of this to dust the bottom and sides of the lined baking tin.
- When the marshmallow is ready, pour this into the dusted tin and smooth out. Allow this to set at room temperature for about 2 hours until set.
- After 2 hours, dust the top with another third of your cornflour mixture and turn out onto a piece of parchment paper. Remove the cling film and slice into cubes with an oiled sharp knife. Dredge each cube in the spice cornflour mixture.
Instructions for S'mores serving suggestion
- To make the s'mores - skewer a marshmallow and toast this over an open flame or embers. Sandwich with two Lotus Biscoff biscuits and some chocolate.
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