Strawberry and Soursop Marshmallows

Fruity with just a hint of tang, these are the marshmallows of summer. They’re the ones I’d make for a child’s birthday party — Kavya loves them best of all the ones I’ve made so far. Sweet enough to please the kids, but light and fruity enough to delight adults as well.

Soursop (also known as guanabana, custard apple, and Brazilian pawpaw) tastes something like a cross between strawberry and pineapple, with just a hint of banana. In northern America, your best chance at finding it is probably in Mexican grocers; look for frozen purees. Combine with fresh strawberries for a delicious treat!

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup water
1/4 c. soursop puree (from frozen is fine)
1/4 c. strawberry puree
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
butter (for greasing the pan)
red food coloring (optional)

1. Empty gelatin packets into bowl of stand mixer (whisk attachment), with soursop and strawberry purees. Stir briefly to combine.

2. In a small saucepan (a bigger one will be heavy and hard to hold steadily at a later stage) combine water, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cover and cook over medium high heat for 4 minutes. Uncover and cook until the mixture reaches soft ball stage (240 degrees if you have a candy thermometer), approximately 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from heat; if it continues, it will swiftly turn into hard candy.

3. Turn mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. (Be very careful with the sugar syrup, as it is scaldingly hot and will burn you badly if it gets on your skin.) Once you’ve added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high.

4. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 minutes. Add food coloring, if using, during this stage.

5. While it’s whipping, butter a large 9 x 12 pan and dust with powdered sugar. Prepare an oiled spatula.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly (and swiftly) with an oiled spatula.

7. Dust the top with enough of the remaining powdered sugar to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

8. Turn onto a board, cut into squares and dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining powdered sugar, using additional if necessary. May be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks, or frozen.

Note:  I’m not sure how well they’d ship — I’m guessing they’d be less pretty on the other end. I’m not even sure they’ll stack well. But if you take dried strawberries and pulse them with a little powdered sugar, they make a lovely topping to strawberry-soursop marshmallows, adding an extra little touch of tangy fruit. Mmm….

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