Divinity perfected…

As long as I can remember, my Mom’s Divinity was a candy we all looked forward to at Christmastime. Guaranteed to send a diabetic into sugar shock, its light fluffiness never fails to satisfy that sweet tooth craving.

Once I was old enough to help with Christmas candy-making and baking, I always took part in helping to prepare this recipe. Mom always made several batches of it each year so that she could share with neighbors and friends, so there were several opportunities to learn the skill along the way. So, I never dreamed I’d have so much difficulty getting consistent results when I was out on my own.

Let me just say that I’ve had some very lackluster batches in the past years, some so soft that they could be referred to as “spoon candy”, some so dry and crumbly that they wouldn’t stick together.

This year was going to be the year I got it right. After a few long conversations with Mom, picking her brain about the finer points of deciding when to call it “ready” and add the vanilla, I got it right. I think it is now duplicate-able infinitely and want to share it.

Divinity (with notes and secret techniques)

2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks with high powered stand mixer
2 1/2 cups sugar (I told you about the sugar coma thing)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

In a 2 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, syrup, water and salt. Cook to the thread stage (230 degrees). Meanwhile, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Use a stand mixer with a good motor. Don’t try this with a small hand mixer (You’ll burn the motor out). Dip out about 1 cup of the syrup and slowly add to the beaten egg whites while beating. Scrape down the sides.

Continue cooking the rest of the syrup to the hard ball stage (260 degrees). Again, dip out about 1 cup of the syrup and slowly add to the egg white mixture while beating. Scrape down the sides.

Cook the rest of the syrup to the hard crack (300 degrees) stage (if you are using a water test method, the syrup will actually make a cracking sound when you drop the hot syrup into the cold water).

Finally, pour the rest of the syrup into the egg white mixture while beating.

This is all pretty straightforward… this next part is where I always messed up. It takes a long time beating this mixture before it is ready. After you’ve added all the syrup to the egg white mixture, you have to beat it for a long while. I timed it this time and it took me fully 15 minutes before it was ready. Start watching it very carefully once it starts to show any sign of solidifying… in my case after about 8-9 minutes… this could vary a bit. I think mostly I have lacked patience to beat it long enough in most of my failed batches… THIS IS THE SECRET TECHNIQUE… don’t give up too soon on the beating!

So you ask… “How do I know when it is ready?”

When the divinity starts to hold its shape when you turn off the beaters, and just starts to set up like meringue, it is ready. At first, it is very liquid and soft (obviously won’t hold its shape)… then, gradually it will start to solidify slightly. When you see this, stop beating, add the vanilla very quickly and make haste to spoon it out in dollops onto a sheet of waxed paper.

Mom likes to press a pecan half into the top of each dollop (cuts the sweet taste a bit) and has been known to add a drop of either green or red food coloring with the vanilla for a touch of color.

I realize there have been a lot of food articles this week… bear with us — Christmas is coming.