Vegan Vanilla Marshmallows

Line an 8" square baking tin with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the icing sugar and corn flour. 

Use a few spoonfuls of the mixture to coat the tin on all sides and corners. Set the pan aside and save the remainder of the mixture until your marshmallows are completely set and ready to cut.

Using a stand mixer, combine agar agar powder and 120ml of the water until dissolved. It should come together like a thin applesauce. Put this to one side.

In a saucepan, pour in 170ml (the rest) of the water. On top of the water, pour the granulated sugar, golden syrupand the pinch of salt. Do not stir. Bring to a rapid boil until the mixture has reached a temperature of 120ºc. This should take around 15 minutes, keep an eye on it as you don't want to to burn. 

Keep a pastry brush and a small bowl of water handy. Carefully brush water around the inside of the sauce pan to create condensation which will prevent crystals from forming.

 Once the sugar mixture has come to temperature, take it off the heat. 

Turn the stand mixer on to low speed and cover with a tea towel. This will help stop boiling water from splashing.  Carefully pour hot syrup into the bowl and into the agar mix while the mixer is on low. Once it's all in, add the vanilla bean paste and gradually increase the speed until it's on high. Whip the mixture for 10 minutes until thick - almost like a shiny soft ice cream consistency.

Transfer the whipped mixture to the prepared 8" tin and leave on the side, uncovered, for 12-18 hours. After this, the top should be completely dried. Once they are dried and feeling solid, put them in the fridge for about an hour before slicing into squares.

Once you have cut a marshmallow, toss it in the rest of the icing sugar and cornflour mix to prevent it from being sticky.