Food Feature – Meringue Recipes

Food Feature – Meringue Recipes

by Holly Cowgill

»Vegan Chocolate Swirl Meringue Sandwiches with Chocolate Hazelnut Filling«

Ingredients: 

• 1 can chickpeas
• 200g caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 50g dark chocolate
• drop of vanilla extract

For the hazelnut spread: 

• 250g roasted hazelnuts
• 50g dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• a few drops of vanilla extract

Preparation: 

1. Preheat your oven to 110°C fan/ 130°C.
2. To make the meringue, drain the chickpeas from the cans (make sure to keep the water, that’s the ingredient you need!) Keep the chickpeas for use in another recipe and put the chickpea water (aquafaba) in a clean bowl.
3. Use an electric whisk to beat the aquafaba with the pinch of salt for a few minutes. After a few minutes slowly add the sugar, and then continue to beat on a high speed until the mixture forms stiff peaks, and you can hold the bowl upside down without anything falling out. This takes about 15 minutes.
4. Melt the chocolate, leave it to cool for around 15 minutes. While it is cooling, spoon dollops of the aquafaba mixture onto a lined baking tray, using the back of a spoon to smooth them out into flatter round shapes.
5. Drizzle the meringue rounds with the cooled melted chocolate.
6. Bake the meringues for 1 hour 45 minutes until they are crisp (you want them to be crisp all the way through) then turn the oven off and leave the meringues to completely cool inside the oven.
7. Whilst the meringues are baking make the chocolate filling. Put the hazelnuts in a processor and blitz for around 10 minutes, until a hazelnut butter forms.
8. Add in the melted chocolate, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla and blitz for a further few minutes until everything combines into a smooth mixture.
9. Once the meringues are completely cooled, you can build the sandwiches. Use a flat knife to spread some hazelnut spread over the base of one meringue and then push the base of a second meringue on top, so the hazelnut spread is glueing the 2 meringues together (if the spread feels a little loose, you can put it in the fridge for 30minutes or so to firm up and make it better at sticking the meringues together). Any hazelnut spread you have left over will keep for up to 5 days – it’s delicious spread on toast too!

»Meringue Nest with Vanilla Cream, Blackberries & Figs«

Ingredients: 

• 4 large egg whites
• 220g caster sugar
• 400ml double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• handful of blackberries (or any berries of your choice)
• 2-3 figs
• sprigs of rosemary and leaves for decoration

Preparation: 

1. Preheat your oven to 100°C fan/ 120°C.
2. Put the egg whites and sugar into a clean bowl and using an electric whisk, beat for around 6-8 minutes until the mixture is white and glossy and stiff peaks form.
3. Carefully spoon all of the meringue mix onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper into a rough pile in the middle. Use a palette knife to spread the mixture into a round nest shape, pushing a hole into the middle and building up the edges, until you have a nest. Use the back of the palette knife to create grooves up around the side.
4. Bake the meringue nest in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes until it is crispy. Turn the oven off and let the meringue cool inside the oven.
5. Just before you are ready to serve, beat the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla extract until it thickens and holds soft peaks, but is still smooth and soft. Fill the inside of the meringue nest with the whipped cream and then top with the figs and berries. Use rosemary or holly leaves to add extra decoration, and an extra dusting of icing sugar if you fancy.
6. Use a sharp knife to cut slices when serving, it can get messy but it’s still delicious!

»Spiced Rice Pudding with Poached Pears & Cinnamon Meringues«

Ingredients: 

For the Rice Pudding:

• 100g pudding rice
• 60g caster sugar
• 700ml semi-skimmed milk (you can use any milk here, including dairy alternative if you wish)
• 0,5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 bay leave

For the Meringues:

• 1,5 egg whites
• 85g caster sugar

For the Pears:

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 200g sugar
• 1l water

Preparation:

1. For this recipe, it is a good idea to make the meringues first as you will need the oven later to cook the rice pudding. You can make the meringues up to 5 days in advance and keep them in an air tight container until you need them.
2. Preheat your oven to 100°C fan/ 120°Cl.
3. For the meringue, whisk the egg whites and sugar in a clean bowl with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form, about 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle in the ground cinnamon and whisk for a further few minutes until it is well mixed in.
4. Put the meringue mix into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe small swirls of meringue (roughly 4 cm diameter) onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 1hr 15 minutes until the meringues are crisp on the outside. Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool in there before taking them out of the oven.
5. When you are ready to make the pudding, grease an oven proof dish and wash the rice under cold water.
6. Put all of the rice pudding ingredients in the dish and cook at 130°C fan/ 150°C for 1 hour, until the milk is absorbed, the pudding is thick and set but still has a wobble to it.
7. While the pudding is cooking, peel the pears (keeping them whole). In a deep saucepan, put in the water and sugar, then the whole pears. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a light simmer until the pears are soft and cooked through. Take them off the heat and let them sit in the poaching liquid until everything is ready.
8. To serve, spoon some rice pudding into bowls, top with a half of a poached pear and then finish with a few of the cinnamon meringues. You could also crush the meringues over the top if you prefer.

»Rye Bread Bites with smoked Salmon, Miso Creme Fraiche & Soy Sauce Meringues«

Ingredients: 

• 1 loaf of your favorite bread
• 100g smoked salmon
• 150g crème fraîche
• 2 tsp miso paste
• 1,5 egg whites
• 85g caster sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• sea salt flakes for sprinkling

Preparation: 

1. To make the soy meringues, use an electric whisk to beat the egg whites with the sugar until stiff peaks form, about 6-8 minutes. At the final few moments of beating slowly, add in the soy sauce and continue beating until it is well mixed in and the stiff peaks still stand.
2. Put the mix into a piping bag fitted with a star shaped nozzle and pipe mini meringue stars (roughly the size of a thumbnail) onto a lined baking tray. Sprinkle some sea salt flakes over them and then bake at 100°C fan/ 120°C for 1 hour 15 minutes, they should be crisp on the outside. Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool inside the oven for at least 15 minutes before removing them from the oven to cool completely.
3. When you are ready to serve, mix the miso paste into the crème fraîche.
4. Toast the rye bread, then slice and cut into bite size pieces. Spread the crème fraîche over the rye toasts, top with smoked salmon and garnish with the soy meringues, black pepper and herbs.