Pillowy homemade espresso marshmallows dipped in crunchy dark chocolate make for the best vegan Mocha marshmallows,, or mochamellows.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate, Coffee, Marshmallow, Moka
Prep Time 20minutes
Resting Time 4hours
Total Time 4hours20minutes
Servings 30mokamellows
Ingredients
Sugar syrup:
400gwhite granulated sugar (2 cups)
4gagar-agar powder (2 teaspoon or 10 ml)
85glight corn syrup or the same quantity of glucose syrup (¼ cup)
125gwater (½ cup)
Espresso Meringue
190gespresso*( ¾ cup)
2.9gVersawhip 600K*(1 ½ teaspoon or 7.5 ml)
1gxanthan gum (¼ teaspoon or 1.25 ml)
⅛teaspoonof fine sea salt
Dusting
oil spray
35gpowdered or icing sugar (¼ cup)
35gcornstarch, also known as cornflour (¼ cup)
Chocolate Coating
400gdark couverture chocolate*, I used Belcolade 64% Peru (14 oz)
Instructions
Sugar Syrup
In a heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan with high edges, place the sugar, agar-agar powder and dry mix until homogeneous. Add the corn syrup and water to the saucepan and stir until the sugar is all wet.
Heat the saucepan over medium heat while stirring constantly with a heatproof flexible silicone spatula. The mixture will want to stick and thicken in the corners and bottom of the saucepan and will bubble up a lot so stay close and stir regularly. If sugar stuck on the edges of the pans starts to caramelize, wipe down the sides of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush and reduce the temperature to medium-low.
Espresso Meringue
While the syrup is cooking, place the espresso in the bowl of your stand mixer, sprinkle the Versawhip, xanthan gum and salt on the surface of the espresso and stir it in.
Using the whisk attachment, start whipping on slow until the mixture starts to foam and becomes opaque. Then increase the speed to medium and continue whipping the meringue until you reach stiff peaks and the meringue starts to climb up the whisk.
Once the meringue has reached stiff peaks, leave the mixer running on medium-low while you wait on the syrup to finish cooking.
Keep an eye on your hot sugar syrup and continue stirring it until it reaches 240°F (115°C). Then, VERY slowly, start pouring the hot syrup in a thin stream into the meringue trying not to hit the whisk with the stream. The meringue will slightly deflate, it is normal.
Once the syrup has all been poured into the meringue, set your stand mixer on the lowest setting and mix for 2 minutes to remove large air bubbles. Stop the mixer and then stir by hand a couple of times using a soft silicone spatula, reaching to the bottom of the bowl.
Lightly oil an 8 by 8 inch (20 by 20 cm) square pan and then pour the marshmallow mixture in it. Flatten out the top of the preparation and lightly tap the pan against your work surface. Pop any remaining air bubbles on the surfact with a toothpick.
Leave the marshmallow to set at room temperature for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight is best.
Dusting
In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and cornstarch and then sift some of the preparation on your cutting board and blade of your knife. Slightly press on the marshmallow slab going all around the edge and then flip the pan upside down on your powdered surface. If the marshmallow slab doesn't want to release, you can slide a knife on one of the edges to make an air pocket.
Dust the top of the slab with the powdered sugar mixture, trim the sides and then cut 3 cm by 4 cm rectangles ( 1 ³/₁₆ by 1 ½ inches). Liberally coat each piece in the powdered sugar mixture and then brush off or tap off any excess powder.
Chocolate coating
Line a baking sheet with a fresh sheet of parchment paper.
Temper the dark chocolate using your favourite method (see notes). Place a third of the chocolate into a small disposable pastry bag or a parchment paper cornet and set aside for later.
Brush or tap the marshmallows a second time to remove any excess dusting powder and then dip them halfway into the chocolate one at a time. Let the chocolate drip off the marshmallows for 2 to 3 seconds before wiping the bottom on the side of the bowl and placing them on the prepared baking sheet leaving some space in between each.
Take the chocolate-filled pastry bag, cut off a small opening at the tip and then quickly drizzle some chocolate at an angle on top of each marshmallow. The higher you hold the pastry bag, the thinner the dizzle will be.
Let the chocolate set completely before removing any excess drizzle strands stuck to the marshmallows. Optional: let the marshmellows air dry for 24h before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
Espresso: You will need about 6 single espresso shots.Versawhip 600K substitution: Replace Versawhip and water in the meringue mixture with 200g ( ¾ cup) of aquafaba. To get that coffee flavor, mix in diluted instant coffee or concentrated coffee extract to taste right into the freshly whipped marshmallows before pouring them in a pan to set.Tempering chocolate: My favorite method for tempering chocolate is using Mycryo but you could also use a seeding method or an ice bath method.If you don’t feel comfortable tempering chocolate, you can use Callebaut Dark Prima Coating, which doesn't require tempering.