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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!
Can I substitute sugar with honey or maple syrup?
Hi Lora, I haven’t tested that substitution so can’t make a recommendation. If anyone tried using those substitutions, please share your results.
you can substitute part of the sugar (around 1/5) with honey (which would work same as glucose syrup and would actually prolong the life of zefir some), but it would alter the taste greatly and not sure that honey flavor works with blackberries.
Thank you Marishk
Can you use raspberry or strawberries as your fruit?
Hi Linda, I think raspberry would work better since it is more concentrated in flavor. You may need to cook the strawberry puree a little longer so it thickens since strawberry juice tends to be a little more watery and be sure not to add more than 1/2 cup of puree.
To make them with raspberries is there anything different that needs to be done?
Yours look really beautiful!!
Hi Jacquelyn, thank you! One of our readers, Liliana, reported the following: “Made these last night using raspberries instead of blackberries (blackberries were too sad looking :)) and they came out sooo delicious! “
I have been using raspberries and they taste even better than any other berries.
Natasha, can I substitute agar-agar with gelatin since I could not find it in the store here in Coquitlam,Canada? I am trying to make the zephyr tomorrow for my daughter’s bake sale.
Hi Jenn, for this particular recipe, gelatin doesn’t work the same way and I have had readers report that it doesn’t work. If you are not able to purchase it in stores, the best source would be online (I have an Amazon link above). I know that doesn’t help with being able to make them for tomorrows bake sale!
You can find agar in Vancouver area easily in Chinese stores. I remember I fount in in Wholefoods and Choices as well. Also it’s very easy to order from Amazon.
I have made this zefir twice so far and they tasted great, the only thing is mine were more like souffle consistency wise, but yours , Natasha, seem to be more dense. Could you , please, tell me what brand of agar agar you are using? Thank you in advance!
Hi Alina, I purchased my agar in a natural grocery store from a bin and I don’t think there was a brand on it. Sorry I can’t be more helpful! When you measure your agar, make sure to use a measuring spoon and level off the top to get an accurate measure. I hope that helps!
Ok, great, thank you I will try that next time around, which wont be long:), probably tonight, I love them so much!:)
You’re welcome Alina! Please let me know how it turns out next time! 🙂
Ok, I finally figured out what my problem was as far as the density goes , i doubled the amount when I previously made zephyr, last night I followed your proportions exactly and it came out perfect, just like in your video! So, thank you again for such wonderful and easy recipe
Thank you so much for reporting back! I’m so glad you figured it out! It’s great to know that a single batch at a time works best. I haven’t tested it in more than one batch at a time.
Made youre wonderful zephyr marsmallows last night:)😍 yummy! Just wondering about one thing, how long can i keep them? We are having a christening for our little girl, this Sunday. How do i keep them, to make sure they are good and fresh?😀
Hi Karine, keep them in an airtight container (like tupperware) at room temperature (away from humidity is best). They keep best up to 3 days at room temperature before they start to get a little dry.
*A STELLAR RECIPE * 5 Gold Stars!! Made these a couple of times and they came out perfect. I do not like store-bought marshmallows; nor do I like them from the russian stores. I gave these a try and was surprised of the outcome. Their texture and taste are different but sooo much better!! I even used frozen berries one time and still came out fantastic!! Easy recipe to follow – Excellent job – Give yourself a pat on the shoulder!! With love from Utica.
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!!
Hello, I tried this recipe and it was fairly easy to make. However, mine came out too chewy and not very fluffy when you bite into it. What can be the cause of that?
Hi Svetlana, did you have a chance to watch the video to see if yours looked different in any part of the process? Were there any substitutuions made – maybe using a different kind of gelatin or different ratios of ingredients?
Hi Natasha, thank you so much for coming up with this recipe! These are my favorite treats from Russia. The store bought zephyr I am accustomed to always has vanilla flavor added, do you think it would be ok to add vanilla extract to these? I think the flavors would pair well together but I don’t want to risk ruining the consistency. Would love to know your thoughts! Thank you & happy holidays!!!
Hi Kseniya, these have so much great flavor that it is not necessary in this recipe. I haven’t tried making these as plain vanilla zephyr so I wouldn’t be able to give you instructions on making the vanilla version without testing it first. I think it would work to add a tiny amount of vanilla to this recipe but again it really isn’t needed in this zephyr.
Hi Natasha, thanks so much for sharing the recipe. May I know if I can use store bought frozen puree instead of cooking the frozen fruit to thick puree?
Hi Jamie, I haven’t tried that so I’m not 100% sure if it would work the same way. When you cook the berries on the stove, some of the liquid evaporates and it becomes thicker so maybe it would be best to simmer the puree for 5-10 minutes first and then strain it if there are seeds in the puree.
Hi Natasha,
Have you tried these with frieze dried fruit ? Say raspberry or blackberry? I was wondering how to adjust the recipe if this is what I use?
Hi Kerrie, I have not experimented with freeze dried fruit so I’m not sure if that would work the same way or what other substitutions need to be made.
Thank you Natasha, for this lovely Blackberry Zephyr recipe. My family has artificial color and food allergies. This is perfect to try! We all picked blackberries together this fall. I will let you know!
I hope everyone loves it! Pleas do Sandy!
Hi. I made these last night to experiment for a huge tea I have coming up. I did use gelatin as a substitute for agar agar and they definitely failed. They never firmed up. They were Gorgeous and tasted amazing, but never firmed! I’ll try again and get some agar agar on line.
Hi Nancy, I’m sorry to hear that. Agar agar and gelatin are usually substituted without changes in a recipe and from what I read and hear from my readers, it does not work in this recipe.
Iam going to be trying these can you tell me the best way to store them I would like to make in advance Thank you!
Hi Christine, keeping them in an airtight container (like tupperware) at room temperature away from humidity is best. They keep best up to 3 days at room temperature before they start to get a little dry.
Made these last night using raspberries instead of blackberries (blackberries were too sad looking :)) and they came out sooo delicious! They were a little softer than the ones we used to buy in a store but I think it is because of the high humidity here (I live in Alabama). Will add more agar agar powder next time. But fore real, they taste like heaven in your mouth!!!
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe Liliana! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
we made these a couple of times but they didn’t get firm enough but they still tasted good.
Hi Elena, I am always happy to help troubleshoot. The first thing that comes to mind is maybe cool the gelatin mixture slightly longer before drizzling it into the marshmallow mixture. Also, be sure your meringue mixture has thick stiff peaks before adding gelatin mixture. I hope that helps!
I’ve made these basing off of a russian written recipe. They came out amazing!
I advise you add that it’s important not to over-beat the mixture, as if effects the consistency of the zefir.
Please make these with the original flavor, lemon! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your helpful tip with other readers! I will keep your suggestion in mind Natasha!
I can’t wait to try these! Do you think I could dip them in chocolate once they are dried?
Hi Carly, I haven’t tried that and also haven’t seen it done so I’m not sure. I would suggest experimenting with a few to see how you like them after they set.
Hi Natasha! I made this the other day it tasted sooo good but they didn’t get hard enough like the ones we buy! What can be the problem? Maybe not enough agar agar or..?!
Thank you
Hi Viktoria, it may be due to not heating the agar mixture long enough. Make sure you have it at a low boil for a full 5 minutes.
How are these stored? How long will they last at room temperature?
Hi Karen, store these at room temperature in an airtight container (like tupperware) for 2-3 says in a low humidity area.
Hi Natasha, thank you for posting a great recipe again, can’t wait to try it. Thou still have a question first: can you replace agar-agar with gelatin? I got lots of it (my Mam sent it from Ukraine) and I’d like to use it but still doubting.
Hi Katya, I have only tried agar agar and also have never come across a recipe for this using gelatin so I can’t really guess if it would work and what the changes in process would need to be.
Hi, unfortunately you cannot use gelatin instead of agar poweder. It won’t work well. They are opposite.
Hello where did u get the agar?
Yelena, you might check local stores that have health or natural food section. I got my at Rosauers. Amazon has it as well here.