James Martin Meringues Recipe Easy Food

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.

JAMES MARTIN - MANGO PARFAIT & MERINGUE STACKS

Steps:

• For the mango parfait, place the egg yolks, water and half the sugar into a saucepan and whisk to combine. Place over a low heat and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes, until the mixture thickens.
• Remove from the heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Whisk until the mixture cools and is light and fluffy.
• Meanwhile, place the mango flesh into a blender and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve into a bowl.
• Add the cream to the mango mixture and whisk until the mixture forms soft peaks when the whisk is removed. Fold in the cooled egg yolk mixture.
• Place the egg whites into a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Gradually add the remaining caster sugar, continuing to whisk until stiff and glossy.
• Fold the egg white mixture into the cream mixture until well combined.
• Spoon the mixture into six individual pudding moulds lined with cling film. Place into the freezer for 1-2 hours until completely firm.
• Preheat the oven to 100C/200F/Gas ¾.
• For the meringue stack, place the egg whites into a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed.
• Gradually add the sugar and continue to whisk until stiff and glossy.
• Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle. Draw 18 7.5cm/3in diameter circles onto baking parchment and place onto a baking sheet.
• Pipe the meringue in a spiral to fill each circle.
• Transfer to the oven and cook for 20 minutes, then turn the oven off but leave the meringues in there for at least two hours. When crisp, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
• Remove the parfait from the freezer five minutes before serving.
• To serve, place a meringue disc onto each of six serving plates. Spread a little whipped cream over them, then drizzle with the passion fruit flesh. Top with another meringue and the remaining cream and passion fruit, then finish with a third meringue.
• Turn the parfaits out onto the plates with the meringues. Dust the meringue stacks with icing sugar and top with a few mango slices.

SUPER EASY MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• set oven to 300 degrees and line one or two cookie sheets with pastry or wax paper.
• first you want to blend together the egg whites, salt, and vanilla very well together over a double boiler (i don't have one but i've found that if you use a medium pot with 1'' of water and a medium mixing bowl, it helps out very much).
• put it all in a stand- up mixer (like our kitchen-aide) and blend at high.
• while blending slowly add sugar until stiff peaks occur.
• after peaks are made, put in a pastry/icing bag (using corner of a freezer bag or a tight funnel made of wax paper works as well) and pipe onto lined cookie sheet
• bake for 12-15 minutes or until tops are a slight golden shade.
• serve while warm or put in air tight container (keeps for about a week if they last that long).