Let's talk about....meringues

I have to admit, I'm not a meringue expert. I've only made meringues to be used in a pavlova maybe a few times but when I have made the meringue mixture, I've never really experienced any problems. This why I think it is a fantastic and impressive dessert. Here are a few positives:

• They look great
• They are easy to shape/manipulate into nests/pavlova layers
• Easy to colour:



Lucy's mini rainbow meringues

• Easy to decorate
• Minimal effort - it may be a long bake, but the most difficult bit is separating some eggs
• If they are slightly undercooked, they're still yummy and you can hide it with loads of double cream
• The back up plan - if it all goes wrong, you can buy meringue nests

...and that's all before you eat them!


So some tips:

• Whisking - I've always used a mixer and I've never done it by hand. You can control your mix and keep going if you aren't achieving those stiff peaks!
• Some swear by warming up the caster sugar in the over first, making a more glossy meringue
• Don't be scared to be spectacular (ha!) - pop some of the mix in a piping bag and do something fancy - the mix is easy to control and looks good
• Don't rush - concentrate on getting those egg whites and if you need some egg separating practice, load up Cooking Mama into your Nintendo DS ;)
• Remove any egg shells - this is easily done with wet fingers
• Make sure your mixing bowl is clean and dry
• Start mixing slowly until bubbles start to form then pop it onto full blast
• Mix until the egg whites 'stick' to your whisk
• Feel the mixture between your fingers - you don't want it to be grainy - if it is, keep mixing

As for the egg yolks, you could always make mayonnaise or glaze a pie (guess which one I did) ;)


Here's a recipe I followed recently, where I changed the filling slightly - original recipe is available here


Crown Layered Pavlova

• 6 free-range egg whites
• pinch salt
• 350g/12oz caster sugar
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

For the filling

• 600ml double cream whipped into soft peaks
• 3 passion fruits
• Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Draw two 20cm/8in circles and a 15cm/6in circle on greaseproof paper and place onto three separate baking trays.

Whisk the egg whites and salt in a large clean dry bowl until they form soft peaks when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the sugar and continue to whisk until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour and vinegar.

Spoon one-third of the mixture onto one of the 20cm/8in circles. Spoon another third onto the other 20cm/8in circle.

Spoon half of the remaining mixture onto the 15cm/6in circle. Pipe the remaining meringue around the edge of the 15cm/6in circle in a crown shape.

Reduce the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and bake the meringues for 1-1¼ hours, or until the meringue is crisp outside, but feels soft yet set inside. (If you notice that the different meringues are not cooking evenly, swap the shelves.) Switch off the oven and leave the meringue to cool down in the oven.

To assemble the pavlova, carefully peel the greaseproof paper off the bottom of the meringues. Place a 20cm/8in meringue onto a large, flat serving plate. Once you have whipped your cream, mix in the passion fruit into it. Spread the double cream onto each layer, topping with the soft fruits (saving your best looking ones for the top). Finish by placing one meringue on top of each other.


Taaa daaaa!

For further tips and inspiration, have a look on YouTube or search for the Meringue Girls on Instagram.


Lowri, and guest meringue expert, Lucy xx