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Zephyr is a type of Russian homemade marshmallows recipe. These tasty confections are fluffy and literally just melt in your mouth. Learn how to make these homemade marshmallows with the easy video tutorial.
I have been working on perfecting this recipe for some time and these have the right fluffy consistency using real ingredients (no jell-o needed), and they have intense blackberry-lemon flavor. P.S. that beautiful pinky-purple hue is all natural from fresh blackberries and makes these completely irresistible!
The closest thing I could compare zephyr to are gourmet marshmallows. These are lightyears better than store-bought marshmallows and are stunning on party dessert tables. Think: showers, birthdays, tea parties, etc. Zephyr is the first thing people eye on a dessert table because it’s just so pretty!
This blackberry-leon zephir recipe was modified from Air Cake on youtube.
Watch How to Make Homemade Marshmallows:
This recipe is simple, but it is important to follow the process and have precise measurements. I have included all of my best tips to make sure you are successful the first time and every time!
*Watch our easy video tutorial on how to measure correctly
Ingredients for Blackberry Puree:
2 cups (or 8 oz or 250 grams) blackberries
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 egg white, room temperature
For the Agar Agar Syrup:
1/3 cup (75 ml) water
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
2 tsp (5 grams) agar agar*
Powdered Sugar to dust
*Agar agar us a plant based thickener that works similarly to traditional unflavored pork-derived gelatin. It is kosher-friendly and doesn’t add any aroma or flavor especially when heated which is awesome!! It is available in natural and health-food stores like Rosauers, Whole foods and is reasonably priced on Amazon.
How to Make Homemade Marshmallows (Zephyr):
1. In a medium saucepan, bring blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice to a simmer. Mash berries and simmer uncovered 10 min then strain through fine sieve, pressing on solids with a spatula. Scrape the back of the sieve to get 1/2 cup or 125 grams of puree. Chill the puree over an ice bath until cooled.
2. Once puree is chilled and slightly thickened, combine it with 1 egg white in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk.** Beat 8-10 min on high speed or until thick and stiff peaks form. While the blackberry/egg white mixture is whipping, proceed with step 3.
3. In a medium sauce pan, combine 1/3 cup water, 2 tsp agar agar and 1 cup sugar. Place over medium heat, bring to boil then reduce heat to a low boil and cook 5 min, whisking constantly until syrup has thickened and pours from a spoon without dribbling. Remove from heat.
4. With mixer on the LOWEST speed, and as soon as agar syrup is off the stove, immediately pour it in a thin stream into the whipped blackberry mixture. Avoid getting syrup on whisk and bowl. Scrape down the bowl and beat another 2-3 minutes on high speed until stiff peaks form.
5. Right away, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M large open star tip and pipe roses onto parchment-lined baking sheet, keeping them even in width/size.
6. Let stand in a draft free, low humidity, room temperature (70˚F) area, uncovered 6-12 hours, or overnight. Marshmallows will form a glossy film on top and will come off the parchment fairly easily, then match 2 halves together and roll sandwiched marshmallows in powdered sugar.
⬇ Print-Friendly Marshmallows Recipe (Zephyr) Recipe:
Homemade Marshmallows (Zephyr) VIDEO
Ingredients
For the Blackberry Puree:
- 2 cups or 8 oz or 250 grams blackberries
- 1/2 cup 100 grams granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg white, room temperature
For the Agar Agar Syrup:
- 1/3 cup 75 ml water
- 1 cup 200 grams sugar
- 2 tsp 5 grams agar agar*
- Powdered Sugar to dust
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice to a simmer. Mash berries and simmer uncovered 10 min then strain through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids with a spatula. Scrape off the back of the sieve to ensure you have 1/2 cup or 125 grams of puree. Chill the puree over an ice bath until cooled.
- Once puree is fully chilled and slightly thickened, combine it with 1 egg white in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment.** Beat on 8-10 min on high speed or until mixture is thick and stiff peaks form. While the blackberry/egg white mixture is going, proceed with step 3.
- In a medium sauce pan, stir together 1/3 cup water, 2 tsp agar agar and 1 cup sugar. Place over medium heat, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low boil and cook 5 minutes, whisking constantly until syrup has thickened and pours from a spoon without dribbling. Remove from heat.
- With the mixer on the LOWEST speed, and as soon as agar syrup is off the stove, immediately pour it in a thin stream into whipped blackberry mixture. Avoid getting syrup on whisk and bowl. Once syrup is in, scrape down the bowl and beat another 2-3 min on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Right away, transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M large open star tip and pipe roses onto parchment-lined baking sheet, keeping the roses even in width/size.
- Let homemade marshmallows stand in a draft free, low humidity, room temperature area (70˚F), uncovered for 6-12 hours, or overnight. Marshmallows will form a glossy film on top and will come off the parchment fairly easily. Once set, match 2 halves together then roll sandwiched marshmallows powdered sugar.
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Regarding the use of raw egg whites: Always use eggs that have a whole, un-cracked shell from a trustworthy source. This method is similar to an Italian Buttercream where adding the hot syrup partially tempers the egg white, but if you want to take extra caution especially if pregnant or elderly, you can try using pasteurized egg whites, although from my research, it may take longer to beat the mixture if egg white is pasteurized.
I hope you all love these and find the video tutorial helpful! If you make these (or any recipes from my site), I now have an awesome new spot where my readers can share their yummy photos! You’re invited to join my closed VIP cooking group on Facebook!
Hi Natasha, made these yesterday. I am a very good cook and followed the recipe and timing exactly. But I had the same issue as another person reported – zephyr is still sticky after sitting overnight. It tastes great but hard to get it off. I dusted it with sugar and put it in a fridge. Will see what happens. But it maybe good for you to figure out why this happens. It may be the temperature of the syrup. Baking is all chemistry after all.
Thanks for your feedback, Nina. It can be due to several reasons. Please make sure you beat the mixture until stiff peaks form when you pull up on the whisk, the peak should hold straight up without folding over. Also once they have dried, the marshmallows will form a glossy film on top and will come off the parchment fairly easily. They will still be soft inside like a marshmallow.
Hi! Thank you for this recipe! I was wondering if you (or anyone in the comments) have any thoughts or may have tried not adding the sugar to the berry syrup. I know they will naturally cook down to a syrup without sugar, and I can use more berries for volume, but not sure if that would cause the recipe to fail because it won’t be as thick nor whip as well? Thank you!
HI YG, I don’t recall anyone reporting trying this but I’m not sure it would thicken into a nice syrup the same way without sugar.
Is it possible to switch out the blackberries for a different fruit? Like raspberries, or oranges?
Hi Hannah! I haven’t tested any alternatives but some of my viewers have reported using raspberries with success.
Hi Natasha, I had some questions regarding this recipe because I am actually trying to achieve making marshmallow flowers using pipe and tips and I ran into your recipe which I love all of your recipes so I figured I would give it a try however, this one’s specifically uses a different fruit. Can I exchange the fruit for the regular apple it requires? Will it work to pipe marshmallow flowers? I am trying to pipe what I think in Russian is called a Zefir I fell in love with them. Thanks for you so much in advance.
Hi Karina! To be honest, I do not know. I’ve never tested anything like that. Sorry I cant be more help.
It works! I’ve tried both Apple and strawberry (swapped out the blackberries for equal parts). Pipped reasonably but I think it’ll take several attempts to get the technique right.
What temperature is the agar agar syrup cooking to, since 5 minutes on different levels of heat will yield different results, yes? Our gas burners all seem to run a lot hotter than our previous stove, so time instead of temp has been tricky for me with candies.
I did not use a thermometer to check it. I heat it on medium heat until it reaches a boil. Then you reduce the heat to a low boil and cook it for 5 minutes.
I was wondering if the amount of sugar could be cut in these zephyrs since I am living in Poland and right now the sugar price is not low.
Hi Ilona, altering the ingredient quantity will alter the end result also. Using less sugar may alter the overall volume. If you happen to try it with less, I’d love to know how you like that!
I made this last night and it was such pleasure to work with them, they came out so perfect and beautiful, but they weren’t dry in the morning, super soft, I couldn’t even try. And temperature in the house was 70. What am I doing wrong, I did weight all my ingredients.
Hi Nadia, a couple of things – make sure you beat the mixture until stiff peaks form when you pull up on the whisk, the peak should hold straight up without folding over. Also once they have dried, the marshmallows will form a glossy film on top and will come off the parchment fairly easily. They will still be soft inside like a marshmallow.
Boa noite! Sobre o zefir, com essa receita eu consigo fazer rosas modeladas como vejo nos vídeos das russas? Achei muito legal, vou tentar fazer em breve. Obrigada
Hi Diele, I haven’t tested that, but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!
Hi Natasha,
What is the strength of the agar agar that should be used for this recipe?
Hi Jenny, this is the Agar Powder that I used. CLICK HERE for my amazon affiliate link.
Hi Natasha I’m just wondering where these should be stored if we don’t eat them right away? Thankyou
Hi Lindsay, you can store these at room temperature in an airtight container (like Tupperware) for 2-3 days in a low humidity area.