Waste not, Want Not {meringues}

In my last post I made ice cream for the very first time. So, in this post I’m going to share my first experience making meringue! I think I've been put off meringue because I found whisking them, even with a handheld whisk, a bit of a chore.

It just shows that I shouldn't have been so daunted. There really was no reasoning to why I haven’t tried making meringues before. I think of all the egg whites I have wasted in the past. I feel ashamed.

I know you can freeze egg whites and many people have tips on how to freeze them. I just know myself well enough to know that I would forget about them or they would go funny, that is if they do, before I even got around to using them. So, it just better if I use them right away!

Some people prefer more crisp meringues I like them a little more chewy. These were smaller so these were pretty crisp, but a couple were on the bigger side had a nice chewy middle. Here is the recipe I settled on with. It’s not really from one source as I combined a few different recipes from different places. It is just a meringue, egg whites and sugar! 

Meringues:

6 large egg whites

300g caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

Preheat the oven at 100C/200F/gas ½

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with electric hand whisk or free, standing mixer (so much easier). Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar at a time, whisking constantly until the whites come to a stiff peak. Add the cornflour and whisk until combined.

Using a circle cookie cutter any size, depending on what size you are after. I used a 2 ¼ in/58mm circle cutter. Then I used a pencil to draw many circles on the sheet. They can be close together but not touching. Then make sure you turn the parchment paper over before placing on the baking sheet. I didn't and had pencil lines on my meringues.

Then I used a star tip and filled a piping bag with the whisked egg whites. Towards the end they didn't seem to keep the shape so much I’m assuming (there I go again) because my hands were warm and it started to loose it’s stiffness.

I just swirled them around staying as best I could with in my lines.

Then I placed in the warmed oven, for about 2 hours until dry and crisp. Time will vary on how big they are. Smaller less time, bigger more time I probably wouldn't leave them in for longer then 3 hours. Turn the oven off, but leave in the oven to cool. Over night is best from what I read, but a couple of hours would probably be all right.

Meringues are delicious on their own. However there are many ways to enjoy them! My favorite way is add them to a yogurt that has a fruit layer. Any fruit peach, blueberry, raspberry, or strawberry!

Last summer with all the British pride The Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Muller came out with an Eton Mess Corner. I was in love. However I do prefer Greek yogurt so I bought one with strawberries then crumbled my meringue on top! As Dora’s backpack would say: Delicioso!!

How do you like you're meringues? Chewy or Crispy? & How do you prefer to eat them??