Meringue Baskets

have always liked meringues, but would never have considered them one of the most amazing or exciting desserts. In recent years, however, I have made meringues many, many times and as I gained confidence I have been able to be a bit more daring with my meringues. Once, for Christmas dessert, I made a meringue wreath. Meringues can turn into a showstopper if you are willing to try. As far as the recipe, it came from Mary Berry and it is very easy to do, especially if you have stand mixer. The most tedious part is waiting for them to cook.

Meringues

Ingredients

• 4 eggs

• 250 g caster sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 120 Celsius. Next separate the egg whites from the yolks and place the egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer. (Tip: to avoid wastage, do not throw away the yolks, there are many other recipes you can make with them, such as my recipe for lemon curd).

Whisk the egg whites at a low speed until they become foamy. Once they have become foamy increase to a medium high speed and whisk until stiff peaks form. (NOTE: peaks are stiff when the egg whites turn into a cloud like consistency)

Once, you have reached stiff peaks, it is time to add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Make sure that the sugar has been well incorporate between tbsps. Whisk until stiff, thick and glossy.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and transfer the meringue mixture into a piping bag. Usually, I use my large 50cm reusable one, because it holds all the meringue. I prefer piping baskets as they provide the optimum vessel for strawberries and cream, but if you want you can spoon the meringues onto a baking tray.

Pipe 8 -9 cm circles of meringue and then gradually come up with your piping bag to create a “border”. To achieve this look I used a star tip nozzle. The meringue mixture usually makes 8-9 large baskets. I had a little meringue left over after I piped my baskets, so I decided to make mini ones to garnish.

Place the meringue baskets into the oven and bake for 1 – 1 1/2 hours and set aside to cool. Store in an air tight container and serve with fresh cream and strawberries.