Mini Meringues Mary Berry Food

MERINGUE KISSES

Steps:

• Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment. In a small bowl, mix both sugars together. In another small bowl, mix the jam with enough food colouring to create a vibrant red colour.
• In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, using electric beaters or a tabletop mixer. Add about a third of the sugar, whipping for 1 min or so, until stiff and glossy. Gradually add the remaining sugar until you have a glossy meringue that holds stiff peaks.
• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/ gas 1/2. Turn your pastry bag inside out and, using a spoon, paint three lines of coloured jam from the top to almost the end of the bag. Fill with the meringue mix and twist the end to close.
• Holding the bag vertically over the tray, apply enough pressure to create a base, then quickly draw the bag upwards to create little points. The jam will give the meringues a stripy pattern as they pass through the bag.
• Bake in the oven for 1 hr or until the meringues sound hollow when you lift one and tap the base - they should have a crunchy shell and not be too chewy. Leave to cool in the oven with the door closed, then store in a plastic food bag or airtight container until ready to use.

MERINGUE KISSES & ICICLES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/gas ½. Line two-three baking sheets with parchment. Beat the egg whites until they are foamy and doubled in size. Add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, while you continue to whisk. The meringue will become thick and glossy and should hold up in stiff peaks on the beaters when it is ready.
• For the meringue kisses, fit a disposable piping bag with a 1cm round or star nozzle. Hold it vertically to the baking sheet and gently squeeze, pulling the bag up and away to make a peak. If you are making frosty icicles, make some meringue dots as well.
• For colour-striped meringues, fit a disposable piping bag with a round nozzle, paint red food colouring paste in stripes onto the inside of the bag, then fill with meringue and pipe as before. Bake for 1 hr. Once cool, you can drizzle some of the meringues with melted chocolate and sprinkle with edible glitter or lustre powder, if you like.
• For the icicles and snowflakes, scoop the meringue into a disposable piping bag and snip off a tiny opening. Pipe spiky icicle shapes onto the trays, making them thicker one end and thin at the other. Pipe crossed lines to make snowflakes.
• Bake for 50 mins, then leave to cool on the tray for a few mins, then carefully loosen them off the parchment. Sprinkle with edible glitter or lustre powder, if you like. If left to cool completely, they may stick and break when you try to lift them off. If you are storing these, leave to cool completely, then layer in an airtight container between pieces of baking parchment. Now use the meringue kisses to make our white chocolate, orange & cranberry Christmas cake.

MINI MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Gradually beat in sugar until a little of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger feels smooth, not gritty. Stir in vanilla. Pipe or spoon small portions onto baking tray and bake 35 minutes, or until dry but not brown. Turn off oven and leave meringues to cool inside.

SUMMER BERRY MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼. Tip the egg whites and lemon juice into the clean bowl of a food mixer. Whisk until the whites double in volume and hold a peak when the whisk is drawn through them. Keep the whisk running and add the sugar a tbsp at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next. Whisk until all the sugar has been added and the whites are glossy.
• Place a square of baking parchment on a large baking sheet. Pencil nine circles, about 7cm each, onto the parchment. Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe concentric rounds to fit each drawn circle, piping two or more rings around the edge to form a nest. Bake for 2 hrs until they are crisp and lift off the paper easily. Leave to cool completely.
• Whisk the crème fraîche until stiff, then fold in the yogurt. Set 2 strawberries and 9 raspberries aside and roughly chop the rest. Tip the chopped berries, mint and ginger into a bowl. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and use a wooden spoon to mash to a rough purée. Gently fold the berries into the yogurt mix, adding icing sugar to taste.
• To assemble, cut the remaining strawberries into 9 slices and place a slice inside each meringue case. Generously share the rippled cream between the cases, then top with a raspberry and a mint sprig. Dust with a little icing sugar just before serving. ( Meringues keep in an airtight container for 2 days.)

LIGHTEST EVER MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment and set up a piping bag with a medium-size star nozzle.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff - the whites should stand in stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, pour in roughly half the sugar and the vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny. If you like meringues with soft, mallowy centres, just add 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp white wine vinegar to the mix along with the sugar.
• Carefully spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Push any air out of the top and tightly twist the end of the piping bag to seal. Gently squeeze until meringue is visible at the end of the nozzle, then begin piping onto your lined baking sheets. Pipe spiralling circles, about 6cm wide and 3 layers high - like you would ice a cupcake to make roughly 18. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ after 30 mins.
• Remove from the oven - they should peel easily away from the parchment - and cool on a wire rack. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, between layers of parchment, in an airtight container.
• To make Cream & chocolate meringues for dessert, put 100g dark chocolate in a glass bowl and melt over a pan of gently simmering water. Carefully dip the base of each meringue in to coat, then place on their sides on a plate or tray to set. While the chocolate sets, whip 300ml double cream. Assemble the meringues in pairs and sandwich their chocolate bases together with a good spoonful of cream. Delicious served with ice cream, raspberry coulis or fresh berries.