Rosy almond marshmallows

I first made marshmallows, or guimauves, at my French pastry course at the Bonnie Gordon School of Confectionary Arts. It always seemed like the most impossible endeavour, but making marshmallows under the guidance of a professional pastry chef really showed me how just easy it was.

But I couldn't find the potato starch the recipe called for, and I put it out of my mind. Then I saw the recipe for vanilla marshmallows in Chatelaine magazine, and I could see right away that this recipe was even easier than the one I learned in my course.
Bonus: It called for simpler ingredients (I still haven't been able to find the potato starch I require for the guimauves recipe). Without any hesitation at all, and no hiccups I might add, I whipped these up one night, and they were fantastic. I made the rosy almond marshmallows, but you can make the regular vanilla variety, or even the espresso or cinnamon-cayenne kinds.

Not only do you get several dozen small marshmallows out of this one small batch, but the addition of the pink food colouring and the almond extract gives this childhood indulgence an adult twist.

Substitutions: None

Would I make this again?
Indeed, I would. Perhaps in larger batches so that I can make goody bags at a Pretty in Pink tea party.

Grade: Five stars out of five. Simple, easy, with a charming end result. Just my kind of recipe. If you're tempted to buy the eight-for-eight-dollar marshmallows I saw at my local gourmet food store, walk away, and make these instead.

You'll see the Chatelaine link suggests ways to use these marshmallows but I like plopping them on top of steaming mugs of hot chocolate in gold-tinged antique pink-accented tea cups, letting them melt a teeny bit before serving them to guests. How pretty is that?