You can’t beat homemade meringue. Try with the first of the seasons strawberries or raspberries topped with whipped cream.
Serves people
Method
- Line two large oven trays with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 120°C, 275°F, gas 1.
- Put the egg whites and salt into a large clean bowl.
- Whisk the egg whites until they stand up in soft peaks. The easiest and quickest way to do this is with an electric whisk.
- Add half the sugar and beat well.
- Add the rest of the sugar bit by bit, beating well after each addition.
- The meringue mixture should be thick and glossy. Place spoonfuls onto the lined trays. Alternatively, spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe small nests onto the trays.
- Bake the meringues for at least 2 hours – overnight is fine. Basically they just have to dry out.
- Let them cool, then store in an airtight container in a cupboard or freezer, where they will keep for several weeks. They go soggy very quickly if left out.
- Serve with whipped cream or ice cream and berries or other soft fruit.
Ingredients
- 75 mL egg whites (approx 3 small eggs)
- Pinch of salt
- 150 grams light brown caster sugar
Note:
The formula for meringues is 2oz/50ml sugar to every 1oz/50g egg white.
The bowl and whisk must be clean and free from any grease (or bits of yolk!), otherwise the mixture will not stiffen properly.
