You might remember that a while back I got all excited about what I like to call vegan ‘meringue’, i.e. a gel made from boiled flax seeds and that can be whipped just like egg whites, and that I started replacing egg whites with flax seed gel in marshmallows and mousse au chocolate. Well, I was so excited about this discovery (and the slight lack around the web of useful recipes using it), I went out and wrote an article about it which is included in Chickpea magazine’s Spring 2014 edition. 
The article includes a recipe for making flax seed gel as well as a few recipes using it, including a recipe for vegan marshmallows.
It is this last recipe which I am most proud of, because it was just so darn difficult to get right. There was about a month when there was no surface left in our kitchen that wasn’t at some point covered in marshmallow splatter, my beaters seemed to be permanently glued to my mixer and yet the only results I had to show for all of this chaos was a substance that could not be better described as than vanilla-flavoured snot.
At that stage I decided to step away from the kitchen for a few days (partly for Alessandro’s sanity but also for my own), I did some more research, played around with different ratios of vegetable gums and vegan gelling agents until one day it finally worked. I was worried this was just a fluke so continued testing the recipe – lo and behold it worked time and time again and resulted in perfectly pillowy little marshmallow squares that looked just like the real deal (and that, most importantly, do not require you to order obscure ingredients online). Now I am not even vegan but I am dang excited about finally having conquered vegan marshmallows. What I am even more excited about is seeing an article I wrote and pictures I shot in print for the first time.
You can click here to pre-order the issue online or pre-order a hardcopy. The magazine should hit the stores sometime in March – click here for an overview of stockists (for London peeps, I know Foyle’s stocks the magazine).
REAL SIMPLE FOOD 
Congratulations on the article Sophia! How exciting to have come up with a completely new technique!
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I can’t quite take credit for the technique but I am quite excited about the recipes I developed with it. I have actually used the foam for non-vegan recipes as well – it is just so convenient to not have to think of something to make with surplus egg yolks (although ice cream is always an easy and tasty solution), and for those who freak out about eating raw eggs it is a good alternative as well for some recipes.
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Congratulations on the article and I am sooooooo impressed with your recipe for vegan marshmallows. Amazing!!
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Thank you!
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Hi
IM a newbie to the vegan world and quite honestly the one thing I miss more than anything are candy…mallow in particular.
I couldn’t get hold of the magazine as ive only just come across your site but I’m dying to have smores here this summer with the kids but no matter how hard I try I just can’t seem to crack it…please please help (for my own sanity)
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Hi Adele, Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to leave a note. The magazine may no longer be in the shops but you should still be able to order it online. Alternatively, if you send me an email to realsimplefoodblog@googlemail.com I can email you the recipe. I have recently started experimenting with chickpea liquid (also called aquafaba) as an egg replacer and it works even better than flax seed gel. I have yet to try making marshmallows with that and agar agar but it should work wonderfully (as the chickpea liquid fluffs far better and much more similarly to egg whites). There are plenty of aquafaba recipes online as well in case you are looking for other recipes traditionally made with eggs.
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