Meringue trio

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Meringues, three flavors

Today I made meringues, in three flavors. Have you ever made meringues? I guess some people may think they’re fussy because of their infamous cousin, the macaron, but they’re actually very simple. Plus you can make a lot of them with just two (yes two!) inexpensive ingredients, so they’re great for gifting.

Tomorrow is my anniversary so I thought I’d make some of these for my boyfriend, who is a die-hard meringue lover. Plus we made mousse and parfait at school last week and we ended up with 6 leftover egg whites, which I quickly snatched :)

Meringues, three flavors

Like I said before, you can make some basic meringues with just 2 ingredients: egg whites and granulated sugar. There’s not even a recipe: you just take your whites and add twice as much sugar (you can measure by weight or by volume). And the procedure is easy as pie, too: whip the egg whites (preferably at room temperature) until they are white (redundant but true), then slowly add the sugar and beat until stiff. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes in a KitchenAid (or similar) mixer, or just a couple more on a hand mixer.

To give you some visual aid, this is what the meringue will look like: peaky. It’s a French meringue so it will be grainy; that’s completely normal.

Meringues, three flavors

That’s the basic recipe, but I added some variation for fun. I made funfetti meringues (plain with sprinkles), chocolate meringues (with added cocoa), and strawberry meringues (made with strawberry milk powder).

You can also add other ingredients to the basic recipe, such as salt, cream of tartar (which makes them dryer I think), or vanilla extract, but those are just additives. I like my plain meringues plain.

Though, to be exact, that’s actually figure of speech… I don’t really like meringues, lol. They’re too dry and not appetizing for my taste. But I have to admit that the chocolate ones were pretty good. And they’re all pretty and I love the sound they make when you stir them. Is that weird?

Meringues, three flavors

Oh, and I’ll leave you with one last note, about the baking. You may have heard that meringues are supposed to be baked at pretty low temperature, which is true, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make them if your oven doesn’t go below 250ºF. My oven’s lowest is 300ºF and meringues usually take 45-60 minutes, and they’re perfectly fine to me. You can also leave the door an inch open and bake them for 2 hours, but I don’t really see the point in that.

Also, I don’t use parchment paper either. I just spray the pan, and the meringues slide off easily once they’re cooled.

Anyway, here is the recipe, enjoy :)

Basic meringues

70 g egg whites (2)
140 g granulated sugar (5 oz)

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF / 150ºC.
2. Beat the egg whites until white and foamy.
3. Still beating, slowly add in the sugar, and keep beating until the meringue forms stiff peaks.
4. Fill a piping bag fitted with the tip of choice, and pipe small meringues on a baking pan that has been covered in baking spray.
5. Bake the meringues for 45 to 60 minutes. You can break one open to test them, it should be crusty and resist some pressure, and the inside should be set.

Variations:

Funfetti meringues: after the mixing is done, fold in 2 tbsp nonpareils. Sprinkle additional nonpareils on the piped meringues.
Strawberry meringues: Replace 40 g / 1.5 oz of the sugar with strawberry milk powder.
Chocolate meringues: after the mixing is done, mix in 15 g / 0.5 oz cocoa powder.


8 thoughts on “Meringue trio

  1. I’ve never made meringue before but love it’s crunch and chewiness. Yours look great Sabor, love the sprinkles. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Happy Easter, have a great weekend!
    Laura@Baking in Pyjamas recently posted…Baking News!My Profile

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