Rocky road shortbread and the history of marshmallows

Rocky road are one of my favourite things to make, so I decided to make some rocky road shortbread! I topped crumbly shortbread biscuits with mini marshmallows, chocolate and glace cherries, dusted with icing sugar to give a magical touch.

From a historical perspective this made me start to think about when marshmallows first came to the UK.  I assumed it was probably from the USA, but decided to find out.

It seems that marshmallows originate from Ancient Egypt. The sap from the plants would thicken the mixture of egg whites, sugar and sometimes nuts or honey.  The doctors from this time used the marshmallow for medicinal purposes, to soothe sore throats in children.

By the mid 1880's, marshmallows were becoming increasingly popular, which led to the development of faster and more efficient manufacturing techniques.  The sap from the marshmallow was replaced by gelatine to create a more stable form, which also meant that the positive medicinal properties also went.

In the late 1880's the method changed again in search of greater efficiency. Instead of being made by hand, they were put into moulds made of corn starch (like jelly babies are today). 

By 1948 methods had improved further and Alex Doumak, French marshmallow maker, was one of the first to experiment with marshmallow making.  Using the 'extrusion process' he was able to pipe the mixture through long tubes and then cut the shape into small, equal pieces.  Thus saving time, money and effort.

In recent times marshmallows are made into a wide variety of shapes, patterns and colours, as well as being made into various products.  It seems that the story of the marshmallow is longer and more interesting than I first assumed.  It's just a shame that they seem to have lost their medicinal properties, as it would be a good excuse to have the odd pack or two of gooey, fluffy marshmallows.

(Information on marshmallows from 'Freya Smith, History of the Marshmallow, http://www.gfw.co.uk/stop-article.cfm?ArticleID=644, accessed 29th September 2015)

Apple and cinnamon tray bake

With a few apples in the fruit bowl, I thought I would try a recipe that I've been wanting to bake for a while. These were initially called apple brownies, although I found that the texture is more like that of a cake than a brownie.

Cinnamon and apple are often used together and they made these cakes delicious!

I have included the recipe below as it is quite simple but definitely worth making!

Ingredients
1 cup soft margarine/ butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 small apples (I used braeburn)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F and grease a 9x 13 inch cake tin. (You could use smaller square tins if you don't have a tin this size.)

2. Cream the butter and sugar together, Add in the eggs one at a time mixing well, Then add the milk and vanilla to the mixture.

3. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together,  Put the diced apple in the mixture and mix well.  Pour the thick mixture into the prepared cake tin.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes and check it is done by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake.

5. While still warm cut the cake into squares and remove from the tin when cool.

6. Finally enjoy the yummy taste of these delicious cakes!

(Recipe adapted from 'Apple Brownies', 'Sweet' magazine, no. 4.)

Delicious date bars

These are easy to make and taste delicious. They are so yummy that they probably won't last long when you have made them!

The bars are a mixture of dates, rice crispies, butter, sugar, glace cherries and chocolate. Oooh my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Dates were enjoyed by Ancient Greeks, so I think that they had good taste!