Meringues

A quarter of the year has gone. Where I don't know but it has. It never helps that at work I'm always planning months in advance with clients or working on projects with a live date about two months in the future. To be honest I'm just surprised it isn't Christmas already and thankful that there is still some of the year left. The clocks going forward and ‘summertime’ starting always seems like a kick up the arse with the year telling you to get on with everything as you can’t pretend its January anymore.

So I’ve decided to bake something I have never done before, using techniques I don’t particularly like but as baker should be able to do. I had some egg whites left in the fridge after the bread and butter pudding (as many yolks were needed) so meringues it is. I intend to make them everytime I have left over egg whites but never quite get around to it. I always think that they look great when I see them in shops and I thought – yep, I want to look that impressive. They are a show piece, especially if you make them a bit big. Ideally you use a piping bag to make them, which along with delicate icing, is not something I like to use. I get really messy as whatever I'm piping squirts everywhere. You can use a spoon but I thought I should get my piping skills up. It did mean hunting around for the stupid nozzles for my piping bag as I had no idea where I put them, however this little exercise unearthed some things I’d forgotten about so it was probably worth it.

Ingredients 

4 egg whites

Pinch of salt

115g caster sugar (I only had golden so that us why they aren't crisp white in colour)
115g icing sugar

1 heaped tsp cornflour

Food colouring (optional) 

1.    Preheat the oven to 140°C/GM 1.

2.    Lightly grease with oil a baking tray - I used rapeseed but just make sure it doesn't have an flavour.

3.    Put the egg whites and salt in a ridiculously clean bowl. I'm sure all your bowls are clean but one whiff of oil and you won't get the egg whites to fluff up. They are stupidly stubborn about that kind of thing. Anyway whisk the hell out of them until they form soft peaks.

4.    Then whisk in the sugar a tbsp at a time until you have a bowl of shiny egg whites that keep stiff peaks in them.

5.    Sift the cornflour and about a third of the icing sugar over the top. Then fold in with a metal spoon. Sift the rest of the icing sugar on top and then fold in.

6.    Now just take a heaped tablespoon of the egg white and put it on the baking tray. You'll probably need two, or do in two lots, as this makes about 15.

7.    Optional bit - put a drop of food colouring liquid or gel on the top and use a skewer, sharp end of a knife, toothpick to swirl it around.

8.    Put in the oven for about 50 minutes. I have a gas oven so I turn the tray midway through as the back ones will get done quicker. Once done switch off the oven, keep the door on the latch and let the meringues cool as the oven cools - about 30 minutes. Then you're done!

You can obviously serve these with cream or just on their own. The idea is that the outside is crunchy and the middle is sticky. After making these I did realise that I find the texture of the outside a bit weird on my teeth, like biting into cotton wool but that’s just me. I’m actually grimacing while writing this as it freaks me out but I eat them anyway as I like the middle bit!