Christmas Meringues

Ok, so in an attempt to redeem myself after the ‘swirl cookie fail’,

I attempted another festive swirly recipe – with much more success!

‘Christmas Meringues’

3 eggs

175g castor sugar

1 teaspoon cornflour

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Few drops vanilla essence

(In my hunt over the years for meringue and Pavlova recipes that KICK ASS, I’ve come across many many variations. Some without cornflour, some with. Some without vinegar, some with. Some with egg powder, some with cream of tartar, some with lemon juice… this recipe works for me! But I know that there are very many many ways to make great meringues.)

Pre heat your oven to 130ºC

Prepare a piping bag with a coupler and nozzle.

Whisk egg whites using an electric mixer on a low-speed and as they begin to froth increase the speed, eventually hitting maximum. Your eggs whites will get thicker and thicker, and creamy looking. Keep on Whisking until they form ‘stiff peaks’. To help you tell if its ready, you can scoop some up with a spoon, hold it upside down and see if the mixture stays put.

When you’ve got stiff peaks, add the sugar a little bit at a time, and whisk until it returns to stiff peaks.

Fold in cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence.

Take a paintbrush and paint lines of red gel food colouring down the insides of your piping bag. Two lines were enough, but I applied several layers of food colouring.

Fill piping bag with meringue mixture and pipe in large swirls on your baking paper lined tray.

(Meringues are notorious for sticking to ANYTHING, so I sprayed my baking paper with SPRINK for that extra help!)

Cook your meringues at 130ºC for an hour to an hour and a half. Cooking time will vary. Depending on the size of your meringues and the size of your bags nozzle – keep a close eye on them after the first hour.

You’ll want to cook them until the meringue is firm and crisp on the outside.

I like em a little chewy on the inside! And, a few were sacrificed during cooking to check on the chew.

Once cool serve with fresh fruit and cream! Or…

Stick them together with melted chocolate and crushed candy canes for something extra special.

I spied this idea on www.pinterest.com – HAVE YOU BEEN THERE? You should. It is stealing hours and hours and hours of my life. HOURS.

Merry Christmas!

Love to all!