MINI MERINGUES
INGREDIENTS
4 egg whites
Caster sugar (double the weight of the egg whites)A pinch of salt
Vanilla extract
Colour paste (it's important that it's paste and not food colouring as food colouring doesn't give the right colour and makes the mixture too liquidy)
Mini marshmallows
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius
2. Clean all instruments with vinegar or lemon juice to get rid of any grease that may prevent you from making the perfect little meringues
3. Crack the eggs and place the egg whites in a bowl. It's important to do the eggs one by one over a separate bowl and then adding them to the main mixing bowl. This is in case any yolk gets into the mixture which will them make the 4 egg whites unusable.
4. Weigh your egg whites and measure out double the weight in caster sugar in a separate bowl (for example, egg whites = 150g, then you will need 300g of caster sugar)
5. Using a mixed/hand held whisk, whisk the egg whites on a slow setting until tight air bubbles start to form - this will give the meringues a stronger structure. Once you reach this consistency, turn up your mixture to a higher speed and whisk until the egg whites are white and holding their peaks (you should be able to hold the bowl upside down over your head without anything falling out!)
6. Slowly begin to add your caster sugar and salt to the mixture 1 tablespoon at a time whilst still mixing
7. Once all the sugar has been added, keep whisking for another 5 mins (to test if you mixture is ready, take a bit on your index finger and rub it between your finger and thumb. If the mixture feels gritty then it is not ready and needs more mixing as the sugar hasn't fully combined)
8. Next, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mixture and whisk again until fully combined
9. Place a sheet of grease proof paper on a baking tray and add a few rows of mini marshmallows
10. Depending on how you want your meringues to look, there are two different piping techniques that I use.
11. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 - 35 minutes or until they come away from the baking parchment with ease
PIPING TECHNIQUE ONE
1. Divide the mixture evenly between 3 separate bowls and add a different colour paste to each.
2. Lay out a piece of clingfilm and spoon the different colour mixtures into 3 rows in the centre.
3. Roll up the clingfilm to make a sort of cylinder which can be placed in a piping bag
4. Pipe the mixture onto the marshmallows
PIPING TECHNIQUE TWO
1. Get your different colour pastes and paint a straight lines down the sides of the piping bags (make sure that none of the sides touch each other and contaminate the other colours)
2. Carefully spoon the meringue mixture into the piping bag
3. Before you start piping the meringue onto the marshmallows, be sure to squeeze the mixture out of the piping bag until the colours start appearing (the first part will be white)
4. Pipe the mixture onto the marshmallows
BEWARE - THIS METHOD COULD LEAVE YOUR MERINGUES LOOKING LIKE TOOTHPASTE!! (be careful what colours you choose!)
Happy eating!
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