Egg Meringue Food

MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer); beat on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium high; beat in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, then add the extract or zest. Continue beating until the meringue is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 6 minutes.
• For colored cookies, swirl a few drops of food coloring into the meringue or use a small paintbrush to paint 3 long stripes of food coloring up the inside of a pastry bag. For chocolate chip versions, gently fold the mini chocolate chips into the mixture.
• Drop or pipe the meringue as desired, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake 1 hour, then turn off the oven and let the meringues stand in the oven until dry, about 2 hours. Top with or dip in melted chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils.

VANILLA MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat until the mixture is frothy and soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting about 15 seconds between each addition. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat for an additional 5 minutes. The egg whites should be glossy and stiff but not dry.
• Spoon the mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 2-inch cookies onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between each cookie.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the cookies in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

BASIC MERINGUE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Beat egg whites in medium bowl with electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until sugar is dissolved and stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Spread over hot pie filling in decorative swirls.
• Bake pie in preheated 425°F (220°C) oven until tips of meringue are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Makes topping for a 9-inch (23 cm) pie.

GOOD MERINGUE

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture forms stiff peaks.

MERINGUE FROM POWDERED EGG WHITE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Blend 1/4 cup sugar and egg white powder in a mixer bowl.
• Add water and mix on low-medium speed 3-5 minutes until smooth.
• Scrape bowl.
• Beat on high speed, gradually adding remaining sugar and vanilla.
• Scrape bowl.
• Beat until meringue is stiff but not dry. Spread over hot pie filling; seal to edges of crust.
• Bake about 10 minutes until meringue is browned.

EGG CUSTARD PIE WITH MERINGUE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat milk on the stove top to a simmer, do not boil. Set aside. Combine sugar, flour, & salt. Add heated milk and vanilla. Beat 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks together and add to the milk mixture. Reserve 2 egg whites for meringue.
• Place a baking sheet in the oven and place the pie pan with the unbaked crust on the baking sheet. Prick the crust with a fork and add the custard to the crust.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees F and bake for about 25 minutes until set. A spot about the size of a quarter in the center will not be set. Don't overbake as this will cause the custard to be watery. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• Change oven temp to 400 degrees F. Beat egg whites until foamy and slowly add 3 Tbsp. sugar. Continue to beat until peaks form. Spread on custard to edges to seal pie. Put back in oven and bake till lightly browned. Cool and refrigerate.

EGG IN CHEESE MERINGUE NEST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet that can take high temperatures without warping, with parchment paper or Silpat.
• Separate the egg yolks from the whites. It helps if you are making more than one egg nest to keep each egg yolk in a separate prep bowl.
• Place the egg whites in a very clean mixer bowl and add the salt. Beat the egg whites with a whisk attachment in a mixer (or using a hand mixer), starting on low speed and then slowly increasing to high speed, until stiff peaks form.
• Gently fold in the grated Gruyere cheese, taking care not to deflate the egg whites.
• Create two mounds of the egg white mixture on the lined baking sheet. Form the mounds so they look like nests, with indentations in the centers.
• Place in the oven for 3 minutes.
• After 3 minutes, open the oven, pull out the rack with the egg white nests, and gently add an egg yolk to the center of each nest.
• Return the baking sheet to the oven and cook for 3 more minutes.
• Serve immediately.

ITALIAN MERINGUE (MAGNIFICENT PIE MERINGUE)

Steps:

• Place a shelf in the middle of the oven. Place a baking stone on it and preheat oven to 375°F/191°C.
• In a small saucepan, heat the cornstarch and ⅓ cup (79 ml) cool water over medium heat, stirring steadily with a whisk until thick and cloudy. Reserve until needed.
• Read Egg-White Foams and Meringues At a Glance (see below). Follow precautions - scrupulously clean bowl and beater.
• In a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form when the beater is lifted. Add in ¼ cup (1.8 oz/50 g) sugar and continue to beat.
• In a heavy unlined saucepan, stir together remaining 1¾ cups (12.3 oz/347 g) of the sugar, the corn syrup, and ½ cup (118 ml) water. Bring to a boil, rinse down the sides of the pan with the water on a pastry brush. Attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan, and continue to boil the syrup until it reaches 248°F/120°C (hard-ball stage).
• Continue beating whites until stiff peaks form. Ideally, have the whites stiff when the syrup reaches 248°F/120°C. Rinse a 2-cup (473 ml) heatproof glass measuring cup with a spout with the hottest tap water and dry well. When the syrup reaches 248°F/120°C, carefully pour the syrup into the cup. Drizzle the hot sugar syrup into the meringue while beating on medium speed. Try to avoid drizzling the syrup on the beaters or the sides of the bowl. The meringue will swell dramatically and fill the whole bowl. Beat until the meringue has cooled, about 10 to 13 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and salt, then beat in about 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the reserved cornstarch paste, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time. The meringue is essentially cooked but it is still snow white. It is the perfect palette for a masterpiece.
• Spread the meringue on the pie. Place the pie in the middle of the oven and bake for about 10 minutes - just until the ridges are brown - then remove from the oven and touch up with a blowtorch as desired. (I think that you have to be very experienced to brown a meringue with a blowtorch alone. It is easier to bake just until you start getting color on the ridges, then pull out of the oven and touch up with the blowtorch.)
• Egg-White Foams and Meringues At a Glance
• What to do? Use scrupulously clean bowl and beaters for egg whites. Use fresh egg whites. Why? Any oil or grease will wreck an egg-white foam.
• What to do? Use room-temperature eggs. Why? Warmer eggs are easier to separate. The length of time it takes to beat egg whites is inversely related to how cold the whites are. The colder the whites, the longer the beating time.
• What to do? Separate the eggs using the three-bowl method. Why? Even a trace of egg yolk will deflate an egg-white foam.
• What to do? Use a copper bowl or add ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar per egg white. Why? To get a more stable foam that will hold up better in cooking.
• What to do? For meringues, add the sugar when soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Be sure to add sugar then-do not wait until too late. Why? Adding sugar too early reduces the volume and increases beating time. If you wait too late to add sugar, meringue can dry out and will not expand.
• What to do? Do not overbeat egg whites. Beat them only until they are still moist and slip a little in the bowl. Why? Overbeaten egg-white foams become dry and rigid and will not expand in a hot oven.
• What to do? Stir tapioca starch into the sugar or make a cornstarch paste and beat in the paste after adding the sugar. Why? Starch prevents the meringue's shrinking when baked and prevents tearing when the meringue is cut.

ULTIMATE MERINGUE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 110C/ 100C fan/gas ¼.
• Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
• Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
• Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
• Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.

EGG MERINGUE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• 2. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Careful to not break the egg yolks. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in the bacon, cheese, and green onions.
• 3. Place in mounds on baking sheet. Use a spoon to create a well in the middle of each one. Place in oven and bake 3 minutes. Remove from oven and place a yolk in the the well of each meringue. Place back in the oven for 3 more minutes or until eggs are set.