Thursday, April 23, 2009

Meringues - A Great Tea Time (or anytime !) Treat ....

My daughter always has great fun helping me to decorate the meringues before we bake them

Light and airy, fat free and easy to make, meringues are always a hit with both children and adults alike.

You can serve them with afternoon tea, or accompanied by freshly whipped cream (or ice cream) and fresh fruit for a more decadent dessert. They’re also great to pack into school lunch boxes or to take with you when you’re going on a long car journey -:


Meringues (taken from the book “Cook and Enjoy It” by S.J.A. de Villiers)

3 Egg Whites
pinch of Salt
¼ tsp Cream of Tartar
1 cup Castor Sugar (very fine sugar)
½ tsp Vanilla Essence

Preheat the oven to 120’C-130’C/250’F/Gas Mark 1-2. Beat the egg whites with the salt & cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Add the castor sugar by the spoonful, beating well after each addition and adding the vanilla essence just before the last 2 spoonfuls of sugar. Line a baking sheet with buttered paper. Shape the meringues on the paper with a spoon, or use an icing bag & tube* Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour and lift the meringues off the paper with a spatula.

Variations : Add chopped nuts, or chopped dates & nuts to the mixture before shaping the meringues on the baking sheet.

*I like to place spoonfuls of the meringue mixture into lightly buttered paper cup cases, & decorate them with coloured sprinkles etc before baking.