Raspberry Meringues

There's a bowl of four egg whites sitting sad and lonely at the back of the fridge.  It's a miserable sight.  So what is the formula to convert this bowl of ugly, gloomy, slightly 'icky stuff into something gorgeous? ... it has to be a recipe for meringues.

Meringues.

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways ... Ooh, there are so many.

1. Meringues make me smile - here they are little, pink clouds of happiness.  It just isn't possible to be grumpy with a meringue in front of you.
2. I love a bit of culinary magic and for sure, some magic is involved when you make meringues.  How can two ordinary ingredients like egg whites and sugar transform into such a glorious dessert?
3. With a good recipe, meringues are super, super easy but they look seriously impressive - like you are a pro in the kitchen.  There's a mystique around them - a belief that they are SO difficult to get right.  Pssst - want to know a secret?  They aren't difficult at all but let's keep this a secret between us so that you can get the baking glory ...
4. It's often a surprise to discover that meringues keep really well, so they are a perfect dessert for preparing well in advance.  They will be perfect for 2 weeks in an airtight container, so get cooking now to enjoy later.
5. They also freeze like a dream - who would have thought it?
6. There's so much scope to be creative with meringues. Here I swirled some red food colouring gel through the uncooked meringue mixture with a wooden skewer - gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous and no fuss at all. I recently discovered a beautiful book called Meringue Girls by Alex Hoffler and Stacey O'Gorman - it's a treasure of a cookery book packed with the most stunning inspiration and recipes for meringues and meringue desserts ... check out the strawberry meringue ice lollies - inspired!  Go on - unlock your inner Meringue Girl ... or boy.
7. And the fillings for meringues are gorgeous too.  Here I made them small and sandwiched them together with whipped cream and some fresh raspberries - delicate and delightful.  Served with sorbet, meringues are surprisingly lovely; a drizzle of chocolate sauce is also delicious; passion fruit is a touch more exotic. The world is your oyster.
8. And if a meringue disaster does strike, pick up the pieces and create Eton Mess ... bits of meringue, cream and fruit served in individual dishes.  The ultimate gorgeous food - no fuss.

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Raspberry Meringues

Print Recipe

Meringues make me smile - here they're little, pink clouds of happiness.  It just isn't possible to be grumpy with a meringue in front of you.

Inspired by BBC Good Food

• Author: Rachel Page
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour 15 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 35 mins
• Yield: 16 1x
• Category: Desserts
• Method: Oven baked
• Cuisine: British

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 egg whites, at room temperature
• 110g (4oz)caster sugar
• 110g (4oz) icing sugar
• Red food colouring gel
• 300ml (10 floz) whipping cream, softly whipped
• 200g (7oz) fresh raspberries

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 110ºC/100ºC Fan/225ºF (gas mark ¼). Line two baking sheets with baking parchment paper - sometimes they will stick on greaseproof paper.
2. Tip the egg whites into a large, clean, glass or metal bowl. Using an electric hand whisk, beat on a medium speed until they stand up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
3. Now turn the speed up and start to add the caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for a couple of seconds between each beating. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringues from weeping later. Don't overbeat.
4. Sift one-third of the icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a large metal spoon. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over mix.
5. Dip the end of a wooden skewer or cocktail stick into the red food colouring gel and gently swirl some of it through the uncooked meringue mixture. Less is more, in terms of both quantity of gel and the amount of mixing.
6. Scoop up the mixture, a dessertspoonful at a time and make 8 rough mounds on each baking sheet - 16 in total.
7. Bake in the oven for 1¼ - 1½ hours until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath.
8. Leave to cool on the baking sheets.
9. When cold, gently mix the raspberries into the softly whipped cream and use to sandwich together the meringues into pairs.

Notes

• The meringues will keep really well, so they are a perfect dessert for preparing well in advance.  They will be good for 2 weeks in an airtight container, so get cooking now to enjoy later.

Keywords: afternoon tea, celebration, summer