Monster Meringues Food

MONSTER MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat your oven to 400degreesF Line 2 flat baking sheets and a deep baking tray with baking parchment.
• Place the caster sugar in the deep baking tray in the oven for 7 minutes.
• Place the egg whites in a stand mixer on the slowest speed and start whisking. Gradually increase the speed until soft peaks form and the sugar is ready. Take the sugar out of the oven-it should be hot but not caramelized. Turn the temperature down to 200°F.
• Slowly add the sugar to your eggs with the mixer on full speed, one spoon at a time. Be careful not to add the sugar too quickly or your eggs will deflate.
• Once all the sugar has been added, keep the mixer going for a minute longer until the mixture looks thick and glossy. A good way to check if it is done is to dip the whisk into the mix to see if it creates a peak once pulled out.
• Divide the mixture between 4 bowls and carefully fold in the powdered food color.
• Scoop the mixture into 4 piping bags fitted with round and star nozzles. Pipe your monsters onto the baking sheets and add sprinkles.
• Bake for 1 hour until the meringue comes away from the baking parchment clean and the base is firm.
• Leave to cool.
• Stick on the eyes with a dot of icing.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny and the sugar granules cannot be felt in the whites. Beat in the vanilla, reduce speed to low and add cocoa until combined. With a spatula put the egg white mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 2-inch meringue "kisses" on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Bake in the middle of oven for 2 hours. Turn off oven and leave the meringues in it for at least 2 more hours or until meringues are completely dry.

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.

MATCHA MACAROON MONSTERS

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the condensed milk and matcha. Mix in the coconut and set aside.
• In a separate large mixing bowl, add the egg whites and salt. Using a hand mixer, beat until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Spoon lightly packed 2-inch balls (you can use a 2-inch cookie scoop or weigh 1.5 ounces) of the mixture onto the baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
• Bake in the oven until golden brown; begin checking for doneness at 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes on the pans. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Allow the baking sheets to cool completely. You'll use them again.
• Melt the chocolate in a microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, or in a heat-safe bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring often. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate, scraping off any excess. Then dip in the silver sanding sugar and return to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Attach the candy eyeballs using the chocolate as glue. Let the macaroons set at room temperature or in the fridge. Enjoy!
• The macaroons can be kept at room temperature for about 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.

VEGAN MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Strain the chickpeas directly into the bowl of a stand mixer. There should be about 3/4 cup liquid; reserve the chickpeas for another use. Add the cream of tartar and a pinch of salt to the liquid, and beat on medium-high speed until very foamy. While still beating, add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, then continue to beat until the mixture forms stiff and glossy peaks, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a large star or round tip, and pipe 2-inch mounds about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the meringues are set and no longer glossy, about 2 hours, rotating the trays (from top to bottom) halfway through. Turn the oven off, and let the meringues sit in the closed oven until they have dried out inside, about 1 hour more. (The meringues will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

MATCHA MONSTER MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250˚ F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with a mixer 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 beat in the vanilla. Continue beating until the meringue is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 6 more minutes.
• Transfer the meringue to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe into spiral cone shapes, 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall, about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Decorate each meringue with a candy eyeball. Dust with the matcha.
• Transfer the meringues to the oven and bake 1 hour. Turn off the oven and let the meringues stand in the oven until dry, about 3 hours or overnight.

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.

MERINGUE MONSTERS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the caster sugar in a small roasting tray lined with baking parchment. Shake to level out the sugar and heat in the oven for about 5 mins until hot but not melting. This helps stabilise the egg whites and give a smooth and glossy meringue.
• Put the egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk slowly at first, gradually increasing the speed until the egg whites are at the stiff peak stage, about 5 mins. It's important not to over-whisk the egg whites. Remove the sugar from the oven as soon as the eggs whites are stiff.
• Turn the oven down to 110C/90C fan/gas ¼, leaving the door ajar to help it cool down quickly - the meringues need to be baked at a lower temperature.
• Turn the mixer up to full speed and start adding the sugar one tablespoon at a time. You want the egg whites to maintain their volume as you keep adding sugar, so if you see it starting to collapse, stop adding sugar and allow the mixture to stiffen and rise before adding the rest, a spoonful at a time.
• Once all the sugar has been added, keep whisking until you have a stiff and glossy mixture. It's ready to use when it holds its shape, about 2-5 mins after you add the last of the sugar. You should also be able to see peaks in the mixture as you remove and upturn the whisk.
• To add colour to your monsters, you will need to paint your piping bags. This mixture will make enough for two piping bags - one green, and one purple - but feel free to choose your own monster colours, and even mix them up by painting stripes. Turn your piping bags inside out. Place the bags over jugs or bottles so that they hold themselves up. Paint a thick layer of food colouring from the tip of the piping bag to halfway down the bag. Invert the bags, then carefully spoon your meringue into piping bags - one batch should fill two bags, shaking the mixture down to the bottom of the bag. Try to get rid of any big air bubbles you can see at this stage, but don't be too rough with the mixture.
• Cut some baking parchment to the size of your baking trays. Cut off the bottom inch of the piping bag (about a 50p-sized hole) and squeeze small dollops on to the corner of your baking trays to stick the parchment down.
• Hold the piping bag with both hands, placing your dominant hand at the top of the bag and your other hand halfway down the bag. Hold the bag steady, about 2cm above the tray and squeeze the bag from the top to start forming the body of your monsters. Stop squeezing once the meringue hits the tray. Lift the piping bag a little without creating a break between the meringue on the tray and the meringue left in the piping bag. Drop the bag back down again and squeeze gently to form the top part of the monster's body.
• Repeat until you have piped all of your mixture, working quickly as the mixture will loosen over time. Bake for 40-50 mins until crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Leave to cool on the baking trays.
• If you want to make your own googly eyes, do this at least 24 hrs in advance. Make 100g stiff royal icing, colouring a quarter of this black using black gel colouring. Put the white and black icing into two separate piping bags. Use scissors to snip a little hole at the tip. Carefully pipe white dots onto a parchment-lined baking tray, then leave them to set. Once dry, use the black icing for the pupils. Pipe different-shaped eyes - some big, some small, or perhaps three adjoining. Leave to set overnight until they lift off the baking parchment easily. Use more icing to stick the eyes onto the meringues. Once set, will keep for two weeks in a cool dry place in a loosely covered container.