Fairy Bread Marshmallows Recipe
These fluffy fairy bread marshmallows use a butter-scented fluffy marshmallow topped with rainbow sprinkles.
Fairy bread is an NZ and Australian treat usually served at birthday parties and favorite food of my youngest son! It’s made with white bread spread with lots of butter and generously topped with hundreds and thousands (rainbow nonpareils.)
There’s a company in Australia that makes these that I saw on Tiktok, but I love making my own marshmallows, so I wanted to make these too! Ideally, you will have a sugar thermometer for this recipe to ensure the sugar reaches the right temperature to set the marshmallows. However, I will also add some tips on making these without a thermometer. I make my marshmallows without corn syrup.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for these homemade fairy bread marshmallows.
- Water and granulated sugar. This will make the base sugar syrup (like when making a wet caramel). The key here is to stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves, then stop and don’t stir until it reaches the correct temperature. Stirring can revert the sugar to its crystalized form, which we don’t want.
- Unflavored powdered gelatin. This gives marshmallows their bouncy texture.
- Salt. A tiny bit of salt balances the sweetness.
- Butter essence. This flavoring gives the ‘butter’ part of the fairy bread.
- Vanilla paste or extract
- Rainbow nonpareils – Rainbow hundreds and thousands make it fairy bread.
- Powdered sugar and cornflour or arrowroot flour for dusting
They’re simple ingredients that you will likely already have, except perhaps the butter essence. You can leave this out to make vanilla sprinkle marshmallows instead.
Equipment
- Candy thermometer
- Stand mixer with whisk attachment
- 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch pan
- Offset spatula
- Parchment paper
- Cooking spray or vegetable
Making fairy bread marshmallows
- Line an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan with parchment paper and lightly grease it with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1/2 cup cold water and gelatin. Let this sit while you make the sugar syrup.
- Combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir gently over medium-high heat just until the sugar has dissolved. Then stop stirring, let it boil, and cook until the mixture reaches 245°F / 118°C (use a candy thermometer to check). You can occasionally place a lid on the saucepan, creating condensation that will push down any sugar crystals forming on the side.
How to test without a candy thermometer
- Fill a bowl with very cold water. It should be close to ice cold for accuracy.
- Once your sugar syrup has been cooking, drop a small amount into the cold water.
- Use your fingers to gather the cooled syrup from the bottom of the bowl. If the syrup forms a soft, malleable ball that holds its shape until pressure is applied and then flattens, it’s in the firm ball stage.
- Pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin mixture, then mix with a whisk attachment at a low speed.
- Gradually increase to high speed and whisk for 7-10 minutes until the mixture is thick, fluffy, and tripled in volume. Add butter essence and vanilla near the end.
- Scoop the mixture into the prepared pan and use a greased rubber spatula to smooth it out.
- Sprinkle the top generously with sprinkles.
- Let the marshmallows set for around 3 hours, then turn them onto a surface dusted with powdered sugar and cornflour or arrowroot flour. Use a greased sharp knife or cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes. Toss each marshmallow in additional powder to prevent sticking.
- Store leftover marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.
Serving Suggestions:
- Drop one into a cup of hot cocoa
- Make fairy bread s’mores – a sweet sandwich!
- Chop and add as a topping to your favorite ice cream flavor.
- Package it in little bags of boxes and give it as gifts!
Related recipes
Fairy Bread Marshmallows
Yield:
20
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Additional Time:
3 hours
Total Time:
3 hours 20 minutes
These fluffy fairy bread marshmallows use a butter-scented fluffy marshmallow topped with rainbow sprinkles.
Ingredients
- 20g (2 Tablespoons) powdered gelatin
- 240g (1 cup) cold water
- 400g (2 cups) granulated sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons butter essence
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Rainbow nonpareils
- Powdered sugar, cornflour or arrowroot flour for dusting
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper and lightly grease it with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1/2 cup cold water and gelatin. Let this sit while you make the sugar syrup.
- Combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir gently over medium-high heat just until the sugar has dissolved. Then stop stirring, let it boil, and cook until the mixture reaches 245°F / 118°C (use a candy thermometer to check). You can occasionally place a lid on the saucepan, creating condensation that will push down any sugar crystals forming on the side.
- Pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin mixture, then mix with a whisk attachment at a low speed. Gradually increase to high speed and whisk for 7-10 minutes until the mixture is thick, fluffy, and tripled in volume. Add butter essence and vanilla near the end. Butter essence changes in strength depending on the brand, so start with 1 teaspoon, then taste.
- Scoop the mixture into the prepared pan and use a greased rubber spatula to smooth it out. Sprinkle the top generously with sprinkles.
- Let the marshmallows set for around 3 hours, then turn them onto a surface dusted with powdered sugar and cornflour or arrowroot flour. Use a greased sharp knife or cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes. Toss each marshmallow in additional powder to prevent sticking.
- Store leftover marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.
Notes
How to test without a candy thermometer
- Fill a bowl with very cold water. It should be close to ice cold for accuracy.
- Once your sugar syrup has been cooking, drop a small amount into the cold water.
- Use your fingers to gather the cooled syrup from the bottom of the bowl. If the syrup forms a soft, malleable ball that holds its shape until pressure is applied and then flattens, it's in the firm ball stage.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 52Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 31mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 0g
This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist
My daughter and I are going to make the vanilla version of these for our neighbor’s 9th birthday! I was wondering if we could use a drop of food coloring to make them purple?
Yup you sure can! 🙂
They turned out great! I think 50/50 powdered sugar to arrowroot flour was too much arrowroot, though. I wasn’t sure of the ratio, so I just guessed.