Zephir

200 g applesauce

300 ml sugar (100 ml sugar + 200 ml sugar)

1 egg white

salt (optional)

2 tsp gelatin (or one packet - 2.5 oz)

water

lemon juice (optional)

powdered sugar

piping bag

non-stick paper (wax/parchment/baking paper)

Mix applesauce and 100 ml sugar in a pot over heat until sugar dissolves. It should become thicker and drips slowly off a spoon.

Cool the apple mixture completely.

Transfer the apple mixture to a stand mixer (or a mixing bowl to mix by hand). Add the egg white and a pinch of salt to the mixture.

Whip into a solid with stiff peaks.

Add a splash of lemon juice.

Put the gelatin into a cup and add 1/4 cup cold water. Let the gelatin expand fully.

Prepare a water bath for the cup of gelatin (warm water in a bowl with space to place the cup in the warm water).

Warm up the cup of gelatin in the water bath. Do next steps in the meantime.

In new pot, add 100 ml water and 200 ml sugar.

Boil and stir constantly (bubbling) for about 5 min. The indication this is ready is when you let it drip off a spoon onto a plate and it forms a nice bubble shape (like a bead).

Back to the bowl of whipped apple mixture, While slowly mixing, add the following (alternating little by little): the sugar water (from the last step) and the warm gelatin mixture.

Once finished adding sugar water and gelatin, whip the mixture until it is stiff again.

Put the whole mixture into one or two piping bags and squeeze into shapes on wax/parchment/baking paper

Let sit in room temp, open air, for 1-3 days.

Coat each shape with powdered sugar and serve.

Thickening agent you can choose of your own liking:

Pectin - plant based. used in store bought zefir, makes the hardest zefir and fast. hardest to find in store.

Agar agar - seaweed based. makes medium hardness zefir and fast. should be available in a variety of stores worldwide.

Gelatin - animal based. takes extra step to add to mix. takes longer time to set and makes softer zefir. sold in most shops anywhere.

Powder gelatin needs to expand in a 1/4 glass of cold water. after that it needs to warm up in water bath. and then finally added into whisked egg whites same time as sugar syrup (don’t boil gelatin!).

Flavors: You can replace applesauce with your own jam of choosing. About 200g will do fine.