Katie Pix’s marshmallow snowmen

1 Line a 24x34cm baking tray with baking parchment and lightly brush with oil. Soak the gelatine leaves in a small pan with 120ml cold water and set aside.

2 Place the caster sugar, golden syrup and 250ml cold water in a separate saucepan. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar then add the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and nutmeg, then cover and simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, turn up the heat, pop in a sugar thermometer and allow the syrup to boil vigorously (don’t stir it). You want it to reach between 112°C-115°C, any higher and you’ll end up with chewing gum. As you near the temperature, place the gelatine pan over a medium heat and stir until dissolved so they finish at a similar time.

3 Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer to form stiff peaks.

4 Once the syrup has reached 112°C-115°C, very carefully remove the cinnamon, star anise and cloves with a slotted heat-proof spoon and slowly pour the syrup down the sides of the egg whites bowl with the mixer set at a slow speed. Then pour in the dissolved gelatine solution. Add the vanilla and orange zest and continue to whisk for another 8-10 minutes, or until the mixture has significantly increased in volume, but is thick and still pourable. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared tray and use a palette knife to smooth it out.

5 Stir together the cornflour and icing sugar then sift half of it over the top of the marshmallow. Leave somewhere cool for 2-3 hours or until set.

6 Lightly dust a snowman cookie cutter with the icing sugar mixture and stamp out 12-14 shapes. Keeping the marshmallow well dusted will make handling easier.

7 Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl sat over a pan of simmering water. Leave to melt, then stir and set aside to cool to room temperature. Dip each marshmallow snowman’s hat into the chocolate then leave to set. You can spoon the remaining chocolate into a piping bag to decorate the snowmen, or keep them simple.