Divinity & Variations
Submitted by helnee
Old-fashioned divinity candy with holiday, chocolate, and ginger variations. The classic Southern white candy: cloud-light, melt-on-your-tongue texture, made by streaming hot syrup into beaten egg whites.
YIELD
24 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
35 minREADY
75 minDivinity is the Southern grandma’s candy: snow-white, marshmallow-soft, lighter than air, and famously moody. The texture sits halfway between a meringue and a nougat, with that tell-tale dissolves-on-the-tongue finish.
This recipe gives you the base plus three holiday variations (cherry-pineapple, chocolate, and ginger), all built off the same two-stage syrup method. The first batch of syrup at 248°F (120°C, firm-ball stage) goes into the beating egg whites to start the structure. The second batch cooked higher to 272°F (133°C, hard-ball stage) finishes the candy and gives it the body to hold its shape.
Weather matters more than any other factor. Don’t make divinity on a humid or rainy day. Sugar candy pulls moisture from the air, and you’ll end up with sticky, weeping puddles instead of fluffy peaks. Wait for a dry, sunny day or run the AC hard.
The candy is ready to drop when the gloss starts to dull and the mixture holds a clear peak on the beater. Drop too soon and it spreads flat; wait too long and it sets in the bowl.
Pro Tips
- A candy thermometer is essential. The cold-water test works but is unforgiving for beginners.
- Use a stand mixer. Hand-beating divinity by the time the syrup is ready will burn out your arm and probably the divinity too.
- If the divinity gets too stiff to drop, beat in a teaspoon of hot water at a time to loosen it back up.
- Store in an airtight tin between sheets of waxed paper. Humidity is still the enemy after it’s set.
Variations
- Holiday: stir in chopped candied cherries and pineapple with the nuts for a Christmas-pretty version.
- Chocolate: fold in melted semi-sweet chocolate with the vanilla, using whole pecan halves instead of chopped nuts.
- Ginger: replace some water with syrup from a jar of preserved ginger, and fold in finely diced candied ginger.
Ingredients
Directions
In saucepan, mix corn syrup, sugar, salt and water.
Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.
Continue cooking, without stirring, until a small amount of mixture forms a firm ball when dropped in cold water (248F degrees).
Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry.
Pour about half the syrup slowly over whites, beating constantly.
Cook remainder until a small amount forms hard threads in cold water (272-F).
Add slowly to first mixture, and beat until mixture holds its shape.
Add vanilla and nuts; drop by dessert-spoonfuls onto waxed paper, or spread in buttered 9×9×2” pan, and when firm, cut in squares.
HOLIDAY DIVINITY: Follow above instructions, adding candied cherries and pineapple with the nuts.
CHOCOLATE DIVINITY: Follow above instructions, adding chocolate and nuts with vanilla after beating; then beat until well blended.
GINGER DIVINITY: Follow above instructions, using the water and ginger syrup for the liquid.
Add diced ginger with the nuts.
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