Meringues

One of the recipes that scared me in the past is meringues. Before I even think about to do it I start asking questions all around. Everyone told me is a tough one, and you have to be very careful. So after researching for a few days, I decided to do it. Because was an experiment and I didn’t want to through away everything in case it wasn’t good, I made just half of the recipe. I can tell you that I was very stress out, but in the end was great. I am very proud of me, for cooking meringues. I can tell you without a doubt that this recipe works . It’s a combination of  tips from some great ladies.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

100 g sugar

1 vanilla essence

10 g vanilla sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 125 degree Celsius. Line 2 parchment paper (meringue can stick on grease proof paper and foil).

Separate the eggs, one at a time, placing each white in a cup or small bowl before adding it to the whisking bowl.In the whisking bowl, beat the eggs on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted. Now turn the speed up and start to add sugar, a spoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It’s important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don’t over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.

If it is smooth, all the sugar has dissolved. Keep a close eye on the mixture and stop beating as soon as it reaches this stage. If the mixture is over beaten, the meringues will collapse during cooking and beads of sugar will form on their surface.

Use teaspoons to spoon the mixture onto the lined trays to form the meringues.  Bake for 2 hours with the door open just a little bit, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee color. Leave to cool in the oven.

The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.You can serve them simple  or  two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream. They are great any time, especially on Christmas and Easter.  Enjoy!