Pisco Sour Cocktail Marshmallow

This delicious cocktail marshmallow is based on the famous Pisco Sour cocktail from Peru. It is very light, fluffy and moist, only slightly sweet and sour with a smooth texture, subtle citrus and floral notes just as the Pisco Sour cocktail has. Even if you don’t like classic marshmallows, I bet you’ll fall in love with these!

The Pisco Sour cocktail is a famous cocktail from Peru and Chile made with Pisco, a type of brandy distilled from different grape varieties grown in South America. Pisco tastes very smooth despite its high alcohol content over 40% and it usually has floral and citrus notes. The Peruvian version of the Pisco Sour is made with Pisco, lime juice, simple syrup, egg whites and Angostura bitters.

Both Peru and Chile claim being the origin of Pisco Sour and have denominated it their national drink. There are continuous debates about the origin and both countries have established a “Pisco Sour Day” to legitimate their claim.

The trend of converting a classic cocktail into a marshmallow was started by molecular mixologist Eben Freeman with The Ramos Gin Fizz Marshmallow. Both the Ramos Gin Fizz and the Pisco Sour are cocktails that contain egg whites as one of the ingredients so they are a perfect fit for egg white based marshmallows.

The Pisco Sour Cocktail Marshmallows are made with a modified recipe from David Lebovitz of homemade fluffy and not-too-sweet marshmallows using the same ingredients (but in different proportions) as the Pisco Sour plus some gelatin. The Pisco Sour Cocktail Marshmallows are then dusted with Pisco Sour powder and garnished with lime peel twist and lemon thyme flowers.

The Pisco Sour Cocktail Marshmallows do not contain alcohol as it evaporates during the preparation. If you want to add some alcohol content you can complement the marshmallow with a Pisco Sour cocktail gel or serve them as a side to a Pisco Sour cocktail (the original one!).

Ingredients for Marshmallow (for 8” x 8” cake pan, ~ 16 pieces)

- 8 g powdered gelatin

- 48 ml (1.6 oz) Pisco

- 18 ml (0.6 oz) lime juice

- 3 dashes Angostura Bitters

- 40 ml (1.35 oz) cold water

- 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar

- 50 g (1.76 oz) light corn syrup

- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature

- pinch of salt

Ingredients for Pisco Sour Dust

- 250 g (8.8 oz) granulated sugar

- 85 g (3 oz) water

- 100 ml (3.4 oz) Pisco

- ½ kg (1 lb) corn starch

- ¼ tsp. powdered citric acid

Garnish

- Lime peel twists

- Lemon Thyme leaves with flowers

- Lime wedges

Preparation

Pisco Sour Dust

The Pisco Sour Dust is prepared by processing into powder some Pisco flavored candy and making it sour by adding some citric acid. The Pisco flavored candy is made using the starch candy technique we applied for the Cherry Vodka Candy but in this case we let it dry completely instead of having a liquid filling. Do this at least a day ahead of preparing the marshmallows. Alternatively you can just dust the marshmallows with sour powder without the Pisco flavor to simplify it. Just mix ½ cup of powdered sugar, ½ cup corn starch and 1/8 tsp of powdered citric acid.

1- Make syrup by mixing the sugar and water in a pot and heat it until it reaches 117˚C (243˚F).

2- Carefully clean the sides of the pot with a wet brush.

3- Remove from heat and add the vodka.

4- Cover the pot with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 5 minutes.

5- Remove the towel and carefully and very slowly pour the syrup into another pot. Repeat this process 4 or 5 times to obtain a homogeneous mix.

6- Let the syrup reach room temperature.

7- Using a sifter, fill a medium cake pan with about ½ inch of corn starch.

8- Place the pan with corn starch in the oven at 120˚C (~250˚F) for 1 hour.

9- Remove the cake pan from the oven and gently press the corn starch into the pan to obtain a smooth surface with no spaces or cracks. Push some corn starch to all sides to create a ¼ inch wedge.

10- Add a thin layer of Pisco syrup of no more than 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick on top of the flattened corn starch so it dries thoroughly.

11- Sift at least about 1 cm (~3/8 inch) of corn starch on top to cover the syrup.

12- Let the candy set for about 24 hours. Break the candy layer with a utensil and check if it is completely dry. If it is not, cover it again with corn starch and wait a few more hours until it is completely dry. Breaking the candy in smaller pieces accelerates the drying process.

13- Once the candy is completely dry, pass the corn starch and candy through a fine sieve to separate the candy from most of the corn starch. You still want some corn starch left as it helps with drying the marshmallows and prevents the sugar from getting soggy.

14- Process the Pisco candy pieces in a food processor or coffee grinder until it becomes a fine powder. The coffee grinder usually works better for this.

15- Add 1/8 tsp of powdered citric acid for every cup of Pisco candy powder or adjust sourness as desired. You can also adjust sweetness by adding powdered sugar. Reserve in a sealed container.

Pisco Sour Marshmallows

1- In a small bowl, mix lime juice, bitters and Pisco and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it to dissolve and soften.

2- Mix the sugar and corn syrup with 40 ml of water in a small saucepan. Place it over medium-to-high heat.

3- Pour the egg whites into a bowl of a mixer and beat on low speed until frothy. Add the pinch of salt.

4- Using a candy thermometer, check the temperature of the syrup and when it reaches about 99°C (210°F), increase the speed of the mixer to high and beat the egg whites until they are thick and fluffy.

5- When the syrup reaches 118°C (245°F), slowly pour the hot syrup into the beaten egg whites in the mixer making sure it doesn’t fall on the whisk to avoid splattering.

6- Immediately scrape the soften gelatin and Pisco/Lime into the still hot saucepan that you used for the syrup. Stir thoroughly until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Place it over low heat if necessary.

7- Pour the gelatin mix slowly into the whites as they are whipping. Continue to whip in the mixer until the mixture feels completely cool when you touch the outside of the bowl. Do not stop when it is still warm!

8- Coat lightly an 8” x 8” cake pan (or any pan size to obtain desired thickness) with non-stick spray, wipe the excess off with a paper towel and dust the bottom and all sides with Pisco Sour dust using a sifter or fine sieve. If your Pisco Sour dust is not ready yet, you can use a mixture of half corn starch and half powdered sugar instead.

9- Pour the marshmallow mix into the pan with the help of a spatula and spread it evenly. Let the marshmallows dry uncovered overnight.

10- Once the marshmallows are set, sift some Pisco Sour dust over them.

11- Sift the rest of the Pisco Sour dust in a large bowl.

12- Cut the marshmallows in large squares or desired shape using a knife or a pair of scissors.

13- Toss the cut marshmallows in the Pisco Sour powder to cover them completely. Shake them to remove the excess of powder and store them in a sealed container until they are going to be consumed. You can store them for up to a week. Reserve the Pisco Sour dust in a separate container.

Assemble and Serve

1- Place cut marshmallows on a flat surface.

2- Dust the top lightly with Pisco Sour powder using a sifter.

3- Without touching the top, transfer them to serving plate.

4- Garnish with lime peel twist, lemon thyme leaves and flowers on top of each marshmallow. Add a few lime wedges on the plate.

5- Serve them by themselves, with a traditional Pisco Sour cocktail or pair it with a Pisco Sour Cocktail Gel.