Nougat & Marshmallow & Chocolate fudge & lolly pops

It's all about sweets today.The day stared with a demo about making marshmallows and nougat. As much fun it was to look at, it was of course a lot more fun making it ourselves. 

This time we were in pairs again and we started with making marshmallows using this recipe:
- 300 gr sugar
- 100 gr glucose
- 18 gr gelatin powder soaked in 90 gr water/juice/liquor or 9 gelatin sheets
- 180 gr egg whites
- optional color

For a nice flavor and some color we soaked the gelatin in some mint liquor first. Then we cooked the sugar with the glucose and a dash of water till 121C. When the temperature reaches 115C we beat the egg whites till soft peeks. To this we added one part the hot sugar mixture of 121C and to the other part we mixed in the gelatin. Then the whole thing went into the egg whites and was mixed till the bowl cools. 

We oiled a baking mold and sprinkled it with some powdered sugar and some dried coconut. When the marshmallow mixture was ready we scooped it in the mold and let it dry for an hour or so.

Now we started with making nougat. I never made nougat before but it was easier then I thought. We made it with:
- 450 gr sugar
- 225 gr glucose
- 60 gr egg white
- 150 gr nuts (mixture of hazelnuts and almonds)
wafer sheets

Nougat is made with sugar that has been cooked the first time till 121C and the second time till 149C. So we started to cook the sugar and the glucose with a dash of water till 121C. In the meantime we beat the egg whites till soft peeks. About 1/4 of the sugar mixture was mixed in the egg whites and when the rest of the sugar reached 149C this was added as well. Then all we could do was wait till the mixture has the right consistency. This can take some time, but once you notice that it doesn't mix well anymore the mixture is done. We added the nuts and scooped the nougat on some wafer sheets. With another wafer sheet on top of the nougat we could press it down as much as we wanted. After the nougat cools we sliced them in the shape we wanted. 

Now it was time for some fudge. There were two fudge recipes, one for a "basic" fudge and one for a chocolate fudge. Of course we were making the chocolate one"
- 450 gr sugar
- 190 gr whipping cream
- 75 gr glucose
- 30 gr cocoa powder
- 50 gr butter
- 100 gr nuts

We mixed together the sugar, whipping cream, glucose and the cocoa powder and headed it to 117C. Then we took the pan off the stove and added the butter. We left it to cool for a bit, added the nuts and tempered it on a marble slab till about 45C and it's no longer glossy. Then we put it on a plate till it cools. 

We didn't make the basic fudge but this was the recipe for it:
- 300 ml whipping cream
- 600 gr sugar
- 3 tablespoons of glucose
- 5 gr salt
- 1 table spoon butter

You cook the cream, sugar and glucose till 117C, then add the butter and salt and let it cool till about 45C. We sprinkled some dried coconut on the bottom of a tray and poured the fudge in. Then we sprinkle some coconut on the top. 

Now for the part that didn't work out: lolly pops. Well that's what happens when you don't follow the recipe:
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of glucose
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1,5 tablespoons of citrus juice
- 1 tablespoons of citrus zest
optional: food color

What we did right was heating the sugar with the glucose and the water till 143C. Then we added the juice and the zest and poured it into some molds we greased earlier. Then all we had to do was wait till it cools. The only problem was that we had to much juice in the mixture. We ended up with this sticky  candy that was good, but not anything close to a lolly pop. So next time: we will follow the recipe!

As we had time left we tempered some milk chocolate and dipped the marshmallows in. We even dipped some of the nougat and used some to decorate the fudge. It can't get any sweeter then this.