How do u make meringue?! Love the stuff but wud love to make it for meself rather then buy it from the shops
Thanks guys
:rockon:
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How do u make meringue?! Love the stuff but wud love to make it for meself rather then buy it from the shops
Thanks guys
:rockon:
Loads of egg whites and a really clean bowl and whisk.
If you're using an electric whisk, throw the egg whites in the bowl, with the whisk blades and chuck them all in the freezer for 30 minutes to get really, really cold.
Now whisk em up with about 100g caster sugar. Chilling them down first means they absorb air more rapidly and form a smaller bubble giving a smoother meringue.
Once its really, really, really thick, spoon into a piping bag and pipe out your nests, then bake in a very low oven until dry and crisp (usually 1-2 hours, depending on size).
OR...
For a real classy meringue, do the whole chill egg whites thing, but this time, DON'T add any sugar... beat the hell out of the eggs still they're super stiff and while you're doing that take your sugar and melt it donw with a couple of tablespoons of water.
Keep cooking the sugar until it goes a light golden colour. You've madea a light caramel which is super, super hot as melted sugar can reach incredibly high temps. Be very careful as this stuff will easily take a layer of skin off before it cools if you splash some on yourself.
Anyway, get your caramel and your bowl of well whipped whites, then with the whisk going like the clappers, drizzle the caramel into the whisk blades... the hot sugar will cook the whites as well as sweeten them.
Now all you do is pipe out the meringue as before, then place in a warm dry place to dry out (on top of the oven with the oven on low is good) or , if you want then quicker, pop them in the oven on a very low heat for about an hour.
The difference between the finished results for the two methods is the first will give you crisp, crumbly meringues, the secodn will give you crisp crumbly meringues with soft gooey centers... yum!
AH ha! another of lifes little mysteries solved.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick
Cheers uncle nick.
Have two egg whites left over from baking session earlier
How much sugar to go with them to make a couple of mini merringues? (or should I just give them to the dog?)
The rough rule of thumb is 1/5 sugar by volume... roughly... I always used to just bung the stuff in meself...
if you promise to never, ever share (i know posting this defies that rule - but never mind) I might be able to post my recipe for pavlova.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fraggie
you what you cook???? :O ill end up making it, mind you...... get in that kitchen slave :P
Holy thread revival batman! I thought rather than starting a new meringue thread I thought I'd bring this one back from the dead.
So I'm currently following the BBC Good Food Ultimate Meringue recipe and the middle is sinking a bit much and they are a little bit soft inside I feel. I'm wondering whether I'm over mixing when I add the sugar or something? Anyone got any ideas?
I think I'll have a go at the caster sugar only method next time, ala Delia but with the 'Nick trick' of chilling the eggs.
The results for reference :)
http://mcampbell.me.uk/hexus/meringue.jpg
meringue?
No you're right!
Might be overbeaten, or you're in a cold room when making it
Are they a bit gritty when you munch into them?
Have you used a remote/bbq thermometer to test the temp of your oven as it might be a bit cold. My parents oven down at the beach runs about 10 degrees cooler.
I only make proper kiwi pavs, so light shell on the outside and soft and fluffy with a thin layer of gooey goodness in the middle
Not gritty no, and the room was ok. The oven is a piece of %£&$ though (non-fan assisted, old, poorly insulated) so the temperature could be off. I'll have a look for an oven thermometer in the kitchen shop and see whether the temperature is anywhere near truthful!
Well I tried the method without icing sugar and... exactly the same! A bit brown and gooey inside. I think the ones with icing sugar were nicer so will go back to those and not worry about white or goo-free meringues.
Oh well, onto the next baking obsession :)
The golden rule with meringues is don't get any yolk in with the whites. The most foolproof way of doing this is to crack the eggs in to a separate bowl, one at a time and then when you've separated them, add the white from your "separate" into your mixing bowl. Even the smallest amount of egg yolk will stop the egg white from becoming fluffy/firm when whisked.
Lemon Meringue was always my favourite as a kid, my mum used to make it lovely, i however have to buy it lol
Hi ok im a ex pastry chef these are the rules when making meringue
1 Make sure their is no grease on anything you are using ie bowls and mixing equipment
2 use freshest eggs you can get
3 make sure when you slit the eggs into white and yolks no yolk gets into the whites( it stops the eggs going nice and fluffy)
4 weigh you eggs whites
5 add a pinch of salf and a few drops of lemon juice to the egg whites
6 add a equal amount of sugar (caster is best when you start the whipping
7 add another equal amount of sugar when the mix starts to firm up
8 mix untill the mix is stiff enough not to come out of the bowl when u turn it upside down
9 silicone paper is best for drying the merigues out on
10 ive always dried mine out in a very cool oven for a least two hours till the bottoms of the meringues feel nice and firm
i hope this list helps you all