Sweetie sushi

My children were big sushi enthusiasts from an early age. Personally, I blame Sushi Daily at our local Waitrose – in the “before times” they would offer free samples in the afternoon, getting the city’s middle-class toddlers hooked like benevolent crack dealers. Like all children, my kids are also sugar enthusiasts, so when they discovered there was such a thing as candy sushi, their minds were literally blown!

Now, I’m not a big fan of the commercial gummy sweet version, with their endless ingredients list of E numbers and outrageous price tag, so I thought I’d have a go at making my own. The obvious choice to represent the rice layer was a marshmallow rice crispy cake mixture. For taste and texture (and frankly for convenience!), I visited the Turkish stall at Winchester market and bought orange-flavoured lokum (Turkish delight) for the salmon and apple-flavoured lokum for the avocado. To give the roll the appearance of having been wrapped in nori seaweed, I painted the outside with dark chocolate and brushed it with a little green dusting powder. I decided not to go own the fondant icing route. Tempting though it is for it’s excellent modeling qualities, it brings nothing to the party in terms of flavour.

Sweetie sushi maki and uramaki rolls

Makes two rolls of ten

• 8 cubes orange Turkish delight, cut into halves or quarters
• 8 cubes green Turkish delight, cut into halves or quarters
• 75 g dark chocolate, melted
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• dark green edible dusting powder

For the sushi rice:

• 25 g butter
• 160 g marshmallows
• a few drops vanilla extract
• 85 g puffed rice cereal

To serve:

• Black treacle (in place of soy sauce)
• Pistachio butter (in place of wasabi)

1. Brush three 20cm square sheets of greaseproof paper with oil and set one on top of a sushi rolling mat. Hold it flat with two butter knives if necessary.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the marshmallows and stir with a silicone spatula over a medium-low heat until they have completely melted. Stir in the vanilla extract and cereal.
3. Scrape half of the marshmallow mixture onto the greaseproof paper lined sushi mat. Cover with a second sheet of oiled paper and press the cereal out into a thin even layer.
4. Remove the top sheet of paper and reserve. Add a row of orange Turkish delight, followed by a row of green Turkish delight, then roll up tightly. Leave to set for at least 1 hour.
5. Lay the third sheet of oiled greaseproof on the mat and spread out as before. Brush the surface with half the chocolate, then arrange the Turkish delight on top. Roll up tightly, then roll in sesame seeds to coat. Wrap in a fresh sheet of greaseproof and leave to set for at least an hour.
6. When the first roll has set firmly, brush it with the rest of the melted chocolate and leave to set.
7. Dust the chocolate covered roll with edible green powder, then cut both rolls into thick slices with a sharp oiled knife.
8. Keep in an airtight tin if you don’t serve them straight away.

For an authentic-looking serving suggestion, serve with a dipping bowl of treacle and a small dollop of pistachio butter in place of the usual soy sauce and wasabi paste.