Passionfruit Marshmallows

1/4 C plus 2 T passionfruit puree or juice

1 1/2 T gelatin

1/4 C water

1 C granulated sugar

1/4 C corn syrup

pinch of salt

Tsp vanilla (optional)

1 egg white, at room temperature

Grease a 6×6 metal pan. Generously dust with powdered sugar.

Sprinkle gelatin with passionfruit puree/juice until the gelatin sponges. (Sprinkle little by little so the gelatin sponges evenly.

Combine sugar, water, corn syrup and salt over medium heat. Stir with a spoon or swirl pan a bit to dissolve sugar. You can brush the sides of pan with water if crystals form, but generally leave the pan alone after the sugar is dissolved. Heat until syrup reached soft ball stage (240 degrees F). You can also tell it’s reached this stage when the bubbling in syrups is thick and slow. Carefully pour into the gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved.

Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until it is thick and white and cooled. Add vanilla extract and beat (if adding). In a separate bowl, beat egg white until soft peaks form. Add this to the gelatin mixture and mix. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and dust with powdered sugar. Alternately, you can put this into a piping bag and pipe out marshmallows with a decorating tip of your choice. Refrigerate for a few hours until firm.

By now, some of you may know of my love of Snow and Graham papers. After all, I did design a tiered winter cake (pictured) after one of their gift wrap designs. Now they have come back this holiday season as they do every year, with new exciting winter designs. They also sell holiday cards and stationery as well as assorted holiday wrap packages now. I assure you, you won’t be disappointed. And don’t be surprised if you see another winter-themed cake by me inspired by their designs!

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Getting away from paper, Dwell Studio has always been one of my favorites since my daughter was born. I love their fabric patterns and room decor items. As some of you may know, they also have a stationery line at Tiny Prints. They’ve recently expanded their product line considerably, including real furniture, so revisiting their site is worth a moment. They also have an excellent line produced for Target for a lower cost.

Last but not least is a site I have really come to love… and that is Shop Sweet Lulu. They are not the only site that does what they do, but are very selective of what they sell. I’d say this is increasingly becoming my number one site to visit for party ware and party/event supplies.

Planning and designing this table was both fun and like all tables, challenging. It is truly a feat sometimes to come up with something original and clever at the same time. For this western-themed party, I decided to go gender neutral since there would be both boys and girls at this party. And instead of taking it modernly cowboy I went vintage/country. Deciding on the colors was a big first step. The classic American red, white and blue seems to always go well with cowboy themes, but of course brown is such a natural addition. I was originally thinking perhaps a red gingham tablecloth, but decided it would be too busy. I am glad I went with white. The dessert items ended up being classic country American choices, like S’more flavored whoopie pies (graham cracker-like cake, marshmallow filling and chocolate ganache), handmade marshmallows rolled in toasted coconut and cut to look like haystacks, old-fashioned fudge, southern-style biscuits with blueberries. I decided to include some popcorn which I dubbed “Critter Corn”, tossed with browned butter, lime juice, cardamom, salt and brown sugar for some kick. The cupcakes all had paper stick ponies in them. Each striped paper straw said “Moo!”

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