Who else loves pumpkin spice? Tis the season! So presenting my new pumpkin spice s'mores - easy flavoured marshmallows and the perfect campfire dessert for the Fall.
Making Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows
Ingredients
This recipe is similar to my other marshmallow recipes and calls for:
- Gelatine - you can use gelatine leaves or unflavoured powdered gelatine (both measurements are provided in the recipe card).
- Water
- Egg whites
- Pumpkin Spice - you can make your own spice mix with a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Alternatively, in the UK, Mixed Spice works as a reasonable substitute.
Pumpkin Spice Marshmallow Process
For tips on lining a baking tin in preparation for the marshmallows, check out the post for my Chai Tea flavoured marshmallows.
There are three key parts 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.
Ultimate Autumn S'mores
To make my ultimate autumnal s'mores, you will need the additional ingredient of Lotus Biscoff Biscuits and some chocolate of your choosing. I'll be honest, I sometimes leave off the chocolate, because I just love the warm cinnamon spices.
You can use graham crackers for these, but if you're able to get Lotus biscuits, these will compliment the pumpkin spice more! This is because Lotus biscuits have a uniquely caramelised flavour that really enhances the fall flavoured marshmallows.
Skewer your marshmallow and hold over a campfire or embers from a bbq until toasted. Sandwich with the biscuits and chocolate and enjoy!
FAQs for Pumpkin Spice S'mores
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.
Marshmallows in general are freshest on the day, but they can be kept for a day or two in a sealed container. They may dry out a bit on the edges due to being dredged in the spice, cornstarch and powdered sugar.
If you like this recipe, you might also like these:
Pumpkin Spice S'mores
Equipment
- 9" square baking tin
- Sugar thermometer
- Plastic wrap/cling film
Ingredients
- 8 gelatine leaves or 6 teaspoons of unflavored powdered gelatine
- 1¼ cup cool water
- 2¼ cup caster sugar or superfine granulated
- 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 icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch
- 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.
- 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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