A cup of “comfort and joy”
Meta Newell West
Hot cocoa is the “comfort and joy” drink of winter. Rich, chocolaty
and sweet, brimming with marshmallows, it's a real treat. That is, if you use
the right ingredients!
Back when I was in grade school my family attended a rural
church and our Sunday School teacher made it a point to organize all sorts of
social outings for our small group of attendees. One cold winter evening he
bundled us all into his car and off we went caroling. At the last house, an elderly
couple invited us in for hot cocoa. Half frozen, I took a big gulp only to
discover the sugar was missing. There was no comfort and certainly no joy in
that beverage but we all managed to drink at least part of our cupful and, to
the credit of our parents and Sunday school teacher, we even managed to say
“thank you.”
My mom’s hot cocoa had plenty of sugar and it was made from
whole milk produced on our farm. My dad had cows that provided milk and cream
for our family; he sold the excess to a local dairy. Back before all the
government rules and regulations, he even pasteurized the milk in a home-style
pasteurizer that was set up in our basement. While our milk was pasteurized it
was not homogenized (a process where the fat droplets are broken down and
dispersed in the milk) so there was always a thick layer of cream on top.
Consequently I grew up eating oatmeal topped with heavy cream and whole milk
with cream was not only our drink of choice but was used to make gravies,
puddings and hot cocoa.
Other than really good ingredients there was no “secret”
recipe for hot cocoa. My mom simply followed the recipe on the box and topped
it with packaged marshmallows.
I, too, follow that same recipe. However my preference is dark
chocolate cocoa versus its milk chocolate counterpart; the darker version adds
another depth of flavor. Whole milk is still a must and if I want to be really decadent,
I use part half-and-half; it’s “comfort” in a cup. For the “joy,” I make my own
marshmallows topped with shaved chocolate and crushed peppermint candies.
Homemade marshmallow might sound daunting but all that’s required is a little
time, a heavy-duty mixer and the ability to follow step-by-step instructions .
. .
 |
| Hot Cocoa Station with Homemade Marshmallows. - photo Meta Newell West |
Homemade Marshmallows
A durable stand-type mixer (such as a Kitchen-Aid®) is
needed for making marshmallows.
Ingredients:
½ batch (6x10” dish) Full batch (9x13” dish)
Pan spray
Cold
water
6 Tbsp.
¾
cup
Unflavored gelatin (Knox®) 2 pkg. (each ¼
oz.) 4 pkg. (each ¼ oz.)
Granulated
sugar 1½
cups 3 cups
Light corn
syrup ½ cup + 2
Tbsp. 1¼ cups
Salt
Pinch
¼ teaspoon
Water
6
Tbsp.
¾ cup
Vanilla
1 teaspoon
2 teaspoons
Powdered sugar
About
¾ cup
About 1½ cup
1.
Spritz a baking dish (select dish size that
corresponds with ½ or full batch) with pan spray. Cut a piece of parchment or
wax paper large enough to cover the bottom of the dish and overhang the longer
sides. Place parchment in pan, spray and then set pan aside.
 |
| Overhangs on the long side of the baking pan will allow for easy removal of the marshmallows and will make clean up simple. - photo by Meta Newell West. |
2.
Pour cold water in the bowl of an
electric mixer, and sprinkle the gelatin on top. . Let stand for 5 minutes,
without stirring, so it can “bloom” or absorb the water. (Actually this step
can be done after you begin on step #3 — but time this so that the gelatin has
“bloomed” about the time the sugar solution reaches 238°.)
 |
| Unflavored gelatin is an odorless, tasteless and colorless thickening agent. In this recipe the granulated gelatin goes through a "dissolve and Bloom" process, a softening step where the gelatin absorbs the water and swells. After sprinkling the gelatin on the cold water, do not stir as it will lump. - photo by Meta Newell West. |
3.
Place granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and
additional water in a medium saucepan. Set saucepan over high heat, and bring
to a boil. Insert a candy thermometer, and cook until mixture reaches soft-ball
stage (238°), about 9 minutes (it will take less time for the half batch),
stirring throughout the cooking period with a wooden or rubber-coated wooden
spoon. Note: Candy thermometer
should be suspended in the sugar solution but it should NOT be resting on the
bottom of the pan as this would lead to an elevated temperature reading.
Stirring prevents the sugar crystals that start to form from getting too big.
Why a wooden spoon? Food scientist Harold McGee notes,
"A metal spoon can induce crystallization by conducting heat away from
local areas of the syrup, cooling them and so leaving them supersaturated
[causing crystallization]." He recommends using a wooden spoon that will
not conduct heat.
 |
| This super saturated solution contains a high proportion of sugar so it will take awhile to get to 238 degrees. - photo by Meta Newell West. |
 |
| As the solution cooks, the sugar begins to dissolve and it will start to turn clear and bubble -- this solution is just about at the halfway point. - photo by Meta Newell West. |
4. In a mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment,
set speed to low and slowly add the hot syrup to the gelatin. Gradually
increase speed to high, beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes.
Beat in vanilla.
 | |
| Hot Syrup is being slowly added to the "bloomed" gelatin. - photo by Meta Newell West. |
 |
| As the marshmallow solution is whipped, it increases in volume; notice that the color also becomes bright white. - photo by Meta Newell West |
5.
Pour mixture into prepared baking pan/dish, and
smooth the surface with an offset spatula (to prevent sticking, spray the
spatula with pan spray). At this point, the marshmallows could be sprinkled
with finely chopped chocolate or crushed peppermint candy if desired (or, see
other variations below). Set aside, uncovered, until marshmallow becomes firm,
at least 3 hours and up to overnight. (Truthfully, sometimes I cut them before
the 3 hours are up!)
 |
| I use large plastic clips to keep the parchment paper overhangs out of the way as the marshmallow mixture is poured into the pan. - photo by Meta Newell West. |
|
| I sprinkled one section of the marshmallows with grated chocolate, one with crushed peppermint candies and left the third section plain. - photo Meta Newell West. |
6.
Place powdered sugar in a fine strainer, and
sift part of it onto a clean work surface. Invert large marshmallow onto
sugar-coated surface, and peel off parchment paper.
7.
Lightly spray a sharp knife with pan spray, and
cut marshmallow into bite-sized pieces.
8.
Sift the remaining powdered sugar into a small
bowl, and roll marshmallows in the sugar to coat, or sprinkle as you cut.
 |
| Roll cut surfaces of the marshmallows in powered sugar. - photo by Meta Newell West. |
9.
Store in a covered container at room
temperature.
Variations:
•
Chocolate-topped Marshmallows – Sprinkle with
shaved or finely chopped chocolate.
•
Peppermint Marshmallows
– Sprinkle crushed peppermint candies on top of the marshmallow mixture
after it has been transferred to the prepared dish. Peppermint flavoring could
also be substituted for the vanilla.
• Toasted
Coconut Marshmallows – Add toasted coconut into the
marshmallow batter. Sprinkle additional toasted coconut on top of the
marshmallow mixture after it has been transferred to the prepared dish.
• Chocolate-dipped Marshmallows – Dip part of a square of
marshmallow in melted chocolate.
• S’more
Marshmallows – Dip part of a square of marshmallow
in melted chocolate and then in crushed graham crackers.
* CALIBRATING A CANDY THERMOMETER—It's
always a good idea to calibrate your candy thermometer before using. To do
this, bring a pan of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Water should boil
at 212° but if yours happens to register the
boiling temperature at 202°, you’ll know that you need to add 10° to whatever temperature
your recipe calls for—in the case of this recipe that calls for a 238° temperature,
you’d want to cook the sugar solution to 248°. On the flip side, if water boils
at 222° on your thermometer, you’ll need to subtract 10°, cooking to 228° for
this particular recipe.
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