Well Valentine's Day came and went over weekend and I woke up Saturday morning feeling a little sorry for myself, not a single card, gift or planned night out. For me it was just the same as any other normal boring day or night.
Then a knock at the door and the postman bearing gifts. A little box with my name on it. The contents inside bringing a little smile to my face.
Marshmellow and nougat all in the same box. I think this would brighten up anyone's day.
My little box of goodies came from Miss Marshmellow who started making their marshmallows in 2011, closely followed by the nougat in 2013.
All of the products sold by Miss Marshmellow are made using only natural flavours.
So over Valentines weekend, instead of having a romantic dinner i instead had the pleasure of trying out some delicious natural confectionery instead. I was sent over 2 bags of marshmellows in Fresh Raspberry and Coconut variety packs.
Each bag of marshmellows contains approximately 10 pieces in the shape of cubes.
The flavours are really interesting as they are natural flavours and no artificial. The coconut tastes very mellow, soft melting coconut taste and the raspberry was really surprising. I was half expecting a raspberry flavour but instead I could taste actual raspberry juice and the marshmallow even has little raspberry pieces throughout it just like the fruit itself. Both flavours are really nice and the texture of them is really soft and fluffy just how marshmallows should be. These seem the perfect size and texture for heating over a camping stove too. The individual bags can be purchased for £3.00 each or they can be purchased in special combo packs.
I also have a slab of Salted Peanut nougat too.
These nougat bars come gift wrapped like a little present with pretty little ribbons.
My Salted Peanut nougat comes made with real salted roast peanuts and honey.
Nougat was something I loved as a child but find very hard to come by these days and especially in flavours such as this.
This nougat is both soft but chewy and packed full of sweet dreamy flavour. The nuts give it that extra bit of crunch. It's a lovely much needed mummy treat.
The nougat costs £4 per bar and can be ordered directly from Miss Marshmellow. There are many other Marshmellow and nougat flavours to be seen. All the confectionary is made fresh to order. Postage and packaging is free of charge too. Miss Marshmellow also sells their gourmet selection of confectionery at food festivals and markets and a selection of shops which can be found on their website.
So if like me your feeling sad because you never got a Valentines card then why not treat yourself to some gourmet confectionery from Miss Marshmellow.
Miss Marshmallow sent me over some useful info about how their story and business began. So I thought I would share it.
* They make Gourmet Marshmellows and Dorset Honey Nougat
* They call our marshmallows Marshmellows because they are like marshmallows...but mellower.
(mellower = richer, softer, smoother)
They thought that they needed their own name to distinguish them from the commercial 'pink and
white ones' - and that's how Marshmellows were born.
* The Nougat is made with honey from Dorset, the county in which they live - hence Dorset Honey Nougat
* Their products are made by hand in a mostly rural Dorset area, in a kitchen rather than a factory, by Gavin & Jackie.
* They were inspired to start the business, Miss Marshmellow, while on honeymoon in Provence in 2011. They loved the local nougat and wanted to produce something similar using ingredients sourced in Dorset.
* After experimenting with sugar technology, trying out various recipes, and a lot of trial and error, Gavin at first made some flavoured marshmallows that were pronounced 'fantastic' by willing tasters from amongst family and friends, so they decided to start their own business making Gourmet Marshmellows.
* Since then the Marshmellow flavour range has been extended and includes fruit flavours, chilli varieties, and now some chocolate covered versions. We are passionate about using only real flavour ingredients in our Marshmellows, and there are no artificial colours or preservatives either. (eg We use a high cacao chocolate and melt it into our chocolate range, brew coffee for our Cappucino Marshmellows, Gavin zests and juices lemons for our Lemon Marshmellows.)The aim is to keep the product as local as possible- all the soft fruit we use is sourced locally, eg from 'pick-your-own farms.
* After about a year Gavin went back to the original nougat idea, and they now also make 10 varieties of nougat, using Dorset honey and a variety of other ingredients, including salted peanuts, sour cherries, and, in our unusual New World Nougat, papaya, pumpkin seeds and rum-soaked cocoa nibs!
* They are continually looking at new flavour ideas - our most recent has been Vanilla Marshmellows coated in Toasted Coconut
* They sell their Marshmellows mainly at Food Festivals, and we really enjoy meeting people and chatting with them about our products and their ideas for new flavours. They can also be bought online from the website http://www.missmarshmellow.co.uk
* In 2013 Miss Marshmellow were delighted to be chosen by Theo Paphitis, from Dragon's Den, for one of his Small Business Sunday Awards, which has helped to raise our profile and enabled us to make many helpful contacts.