Meringues

Meringues have been the bane of my life for a long time.

I love them, the crispy gooey-ness makes me ever so happy, but can I for the life of me make them!

I have such high expectations for my meringue when I start out. I envision beautiful piles of cloud like pink and fluffy treats. But what I'm normally left with is a flat sticky mess.

I had all but given up on the idea of ever making let alone perfecting this tricky confection, however recently I was given a cheats tip for meringue making and decided to give it one last try, and if that failed I would accept a life free from home made meringues and more upsettingly macaroons.

So what is this cheats tip that got me to try them once again?

Powdered egg whites. I used Dr Oetker brand powdered egg whites, each packet is equal to 2 egg whites when mixed with 8 table spoons of water and they are a lot less temperamental than "real" egg whites.

I used 1 packet of Dr Oetker egg white powder with water added according to packet instructions and 4oz of caster sugar

Whisking the egg whites until frothy I then slowly started adding my sugar and whisking on high speed.

Less than 5 minuets later I had thick luxurious meringue mix on my hands which i popped into a pre-heated oven at 180 for 15 mins and then turned down to 50 for another half hour and left in the oven after it had been turned off.
The other fab little trick I was told was so clean my bowl and beaters like normal and then use a dash of lemon juice and kitchen paper to make sure there was no grease what so ever on them! Genius!

Here is a more in depth, step by step guide to meringue making and if they are still being unruly there is also video to help you out.

And here they are! I am so pleased, they are perfect crispy outside chewy inside meringues and I can't believe the upset trying to make these treats caused in the past, I just wish I'd known sooner how easy they can be with powdered egg white!