Ingredients
Marshmallow
- 2 tbsppowdered gelatine
- 120 mlcold water, to bloom
- 400 gcaster sugar
- 160 mlwater
- 2 tbspglucose syrup
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- a few drops of pink colouring
- a pinch of salt
To coat
- 400 gmilk or dark chocolate
For the mould
- cornflour and icing sugar, mixed
- or a fish-shaped silicone mould
Directions
- Sprinkle the gelatine over the 120 ml of cold water and leave it to bloom for 10 minutes.
- Boil the sugar, the 160 ml of water and the glucose to 115°C (240°F), the soft-ball stage. Use a thermometer, because marshmallow set by guesswork is either soup or rubber and there is no middle ground.
- Take the syrup off the heat, add the bloomed gelatine and stir until it has dissolved completely.
- Whisk on high for 8 to 10 minutes, until the mixture turns white, thick and glossy and has roughly tripled in volume.
- Beat in the vanilla, the salt and just enough colouring for a pale pink. It should be pale rather than fuchsia.
- Pour into a fish-shaped mould, or into a tray dusted with the cornflour and icing sugar mixture, and level the top.
- Leave it uncovered at room temperature for at least 6 hours, and overnight is better. The surface has to dry to a skin, because chocolate will not stick to a tacky marshmallow.
- If you used a tray, cut fish shapes with a floured cutter and dust the cut edges.
- Temper the chocolate, then dip each fish using a fork, tapping off the excess, and set them on parchment.
- Draw the tines of a fork across the top before the chocolate sets, to suggest scales, which is the traditional finish.
- Let them set at room temperature rather than in the refrigerator, which dulls the chocolate and can make it sweat.
- In New Zealand a chocolate fish is a unit of thanks. Doing someone a favour earns the reply that you deserve one, and the phrase has long outlived any need to hand over the actual sweet.
Technique
- Dry the marshmallow surface overnight. Skipping it is why home-made ones end up with chocolate sliding off them.
- Temper the chocolate if you can. Untempered coating works but will bloom grey and stay soft.
- Keep the pink pale. A strong colour makes them look like something else entirely.
Substitutions
- Golden syrup in place of glucose, which is slightly stickier but works.
- A good compound coating chocolate, which needs no tempering at all.
Variations
- Made bite-size for a party.
- Coated in dark chocolate rather than milk.
- With a drop of raspberry flavouring in the marshmallow.
History
So embedded in New Zealand life that doing someone a favour earns the reply that you deserve a chocolate fish.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chocolate Fish?
Chocolate Fish is a snack from New Zealand: pink marshmallow fish coated in chocolate; given as a small reward. So embedded in New Zealand life that doing someone a favour earns the reply that you deserve a chocolate fish.
How long does Chocolate Fish take to make?
Chocolate Fish takes 40 min plus overnight setting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 16 fish. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Chocolate Fish?
Yes, within limits. Golden syrup in place of glucose, which is slightly stickier but works. A good compound coating chocolate, which needs no tempering at all.
What is the most important thing to get right in Chocolate Fish?
Beat in the vanilla, the salt and just enough colouring for a pale pink. It should be pale rather than fuchsia.
