Meringues are an excellent, delicious and adaptable party food that aren’t as hard to make as you might think. The key is in the whisking and your oven temperature, if you don’t have one already, oven thermometers are a great investment as many oven’s temperatures are off by a small amount.
By changing the colors, these little meringue kisses make the perfect baby shower treat. Of course, if you don’t know the sex of the baby or have a certain theme, they can be made any color you desire.
The flavors in these meringues can also be easily changed, just ensure you use a food flavoring that will not change the colour. Peppermint is a great flavour for the blue ones, and rose for the pink. Concentrated flavorings are best as they don’t change the consistency of the mixture.
The secret to making these glossy is cooking the sugar on a baking tray before adding to the eggs whites, this helps it dissolve much faster.
Pile up the meringues high on cake stands or in small dessert dishes for a simple but impressive finger food.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups (300g) caster sugar
150g egg whites (5oz) (around 5 eggs)
Blue and pink gel food colouring.
Method:
Pre heat the oven to 200C (400F).
Line a baking tray that has a small rim with baking paper.
Pour in the sugar and cook for around 5 minutes until the edges begin to melt.
In the mean time, start whisking the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Start on a low speed until large bubbles appear and then move to a high speed.
Whisk until soft peaks just form and the bowl can be held upside down without the egg mixture falling out. Do not over whisk.
Start adding the hot sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking in between each addition back up to soft peaks. Avoid any of the caramelised sugar at the edge of the tray.
Once all the sugar has been mixed in, keep mixing for 2-3 minutes until the mixture can be rubbed between your fingers without feeling grainy.
Divide the mixture into 2 bowls and color pink and blue (or your own color choices). Use a tooth pick and gradually add the color.
Add star tips to two large piping bags and transfer the mixture into them.
Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Twist the top of the piping bag and squeeze the bag to form a 2 inch bottom, then lift the bag up to form a peak.
Place the baking trays on the bottom racks of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until they can be lifted easily from the paper with their bases attached. You’ll notice the tips and based may be slightly browned.
Leave to cool on the baking trays.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
