I Heart Marshmallows

At a craft fair recently we sampled some delicious home made marshmallows. They were like no other marshmallow we've ever tasted and we were dying to create some for ourselves. When searching the internet for recipes we stumbled across these beautiful little desserts. They're so simple and so effective, all you need is a heart shaped cookie cutter and some little flags made from cocktail sticks and pretty paper. Perfect for a dinner party or afternoon tea with the girls!

SHORTCAKE BASE125g butter
3/4cup icing sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/4cups self-raising flour

PINK MARSHMALLOW

1 cup cold water
3 drops red food colouring
1 tbsp gelatin powder
1 cup sugar
1 egg white
1 cup icing sugar

Heat oven to 160C and grease a 17 x 27cm slice tin. Place butter and icing sugar in a bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla, then the flour.

Press this shortcake mixture into the base of the prepared slice tin and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to cool.

Place the cold water and food colouring in a saucepan and sprinkle over the gelatin powder. Add sugar then bring to the boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil gently for eight minutes, then remove from the heat to cool a little.

Place the egg white in a clean bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Beat in the icing sugar, and then slowly add the warm gelatin mixture. Continue beating until marshmallow is thick and fluffy. Spread marshmallow topping over shortcake base and leave to set. Cut into slices when cold.