Dulce de Leche Marshmallows

Pillowy soft homemade Dulce de Leche marshmallows swirled with a layer of gooey caramel and a touch of speculoos spice. Easy to make and so much better than shop brought ones. They're perfect for hot chocolate, S'mores and gift treats.

Before I headed back to work after some time off, I took full advantage of getting into the kitchen and having a creative session.

I also took full advantage of a lie-in followed by days in the sunshine. So, in all honesty, that creative session wasn't as long as I anticipated.

But... it didn't all go to waste!

I went to with something didn't really involve being a slave to the oven, and just 10 minutes of being stood over the hob; Dulce de Leche marshmallows!

MTB Foodie had made marshmallows as gifts to go in Christmas hampers before, and I remembered them not being that difficult. Oh, and scraping down the bowl afterwards was like eating marshmallow fluff.

Sugar and Spice

So putting Ian's tried and tested recipe into action, I gave it a few tweaks with some Dulce de Leche and a great Speculaas spice mix which The Speculaas Spice Company kindly sent me to try out.

Anything with caramel ticks all the boxes for me, especially my chocolate marshmallows ice cream that has thick ribbons of it running through it.

So, I give you soft, bouncy Dulce de Leche marshmallows rippled with a thick layer of caramel, tinged with the warm and spicy Speculaas; perfect.

How to make Dulce de Leche marshmallows

Making marshmallow is really not as hard I was expecting it to be. Yes, you need to keep a watch on the sugar as it gets so hot, but the whole process doesn't take that long. Here's how you do it...

Making a sugar syrup

First up you'll want to get the gelatine sheets into a large bowl of cold water to soak. Add them in one-by-one so they soak properly.

While they are soaking, make the sugar syrup by gently heating in a large saucepan along with the liquid glucose and cold water.

When they are dissolved turn the heat to high, and bring the syrup to a rolling boil. Use a sugar thermometer to let it reach 125-127C or the firm ball stage - head down to the recipe for more details.

As the sugar heats up, beat the egg whites until stiff, then carefully pour in the syrup while still beating.

Making the mixture

Remember the gelatine sheets? Take them out of the bowl and give them a squeeze to get rid of the excess water.

Add the sheets to the sugar and egg mixture, and continue beating until dissolved. If you're adding a touch of speculoos spice, add it to the mixture now and stir through, and keeping beating.

Rippling the caramel

When you're ready line a brownie pan with clingfilm or plastic wrap, and dust with icing sugar; and spread half the mixture over.

Spoon the Dulce de Leche over the top of the marshmallow and use an offset spatula to swirl it through. Finish off with the remaining marshmallow before leaving it to set for at least 6 hours or overnight.

How do you keep homemade marshmallows fresh

These marshmallows should be layered between baking parchment in an air-tight container and stored in a dry place, at cool room temperature. They should then keep up to 2 weeks.

Sprinkling the marshmallows with a dusting of icing sugar will also help keep them from getting sticky.

DO NOT keep the marshmallows in the fridge or freezer as they will become hard, and get really sticky when they thaw out.

Top tips for pillowy soft marshmallows

Marshmallow making can seem a bit daunting, working with hot sugar syrup isn't one of my favourite things. But once you've done it a few times it gets a little less scary.

To help you on your way to candy perfection, here are a few top tips to get awesome dulce de leche marshmallows:

• Use a sugar thermometer - Getting the sugar mixture to the right stage, firm ball, means getting the temperature spot on. The best way is to use a sugar thermometer. In fact, I wouldn't make marshmallows without one! I use a traditional one stands in the pan, or you can use a probe or infrared one.
• Do not stir the sugar syrup - This is so important! If you continuously stir or shake the sugar syrup while it is heating, it can cause the sugar to crystallize. Instead, swirl the pan every now and then to prevent hotspots.
• Set in a baking tray - Some freestyle their marshmallows, but I prefer to set mine in a baking tray. A deep brownie pan works best. You'll get a slab of fluffy marshmallow that you can cut up into the perfect size for melting into hot chocolate.
• Prevent sticking - When spreading the marshmallow mixture in the baking pan, lightly coat your spatula with either butter or coconut oil and it will help prevent the mixture from sticking.
• Use an offset spatula for swirling - Invest in an offset spatula for swirling that thick gooey dulce de leche through the marshmallow; it makes it so much easier and you get a good spread of caramel.

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Disclosure: With thanks to The Speculaas Spice Company for sending me a sample of their Speculoos Spice Mix to try out.