Meringues
Crisp outside and soft inside, meringues make a beautiful addition to a cookie tin or simple dessert on their own.
These meringues were inspired by chocolate mendiants, the little rounds of tempered chocolate topped with little slivers of dried fruit and nuts that you see in European chocolate shops. Like the chocolate rounds, meringue makes a perfect backdrop for a two-bite sweet, especially if you use tart fruit or salty nuts to offset the sugary egg whites.
Try using different star tips and make pillars, wreathes, shells, and columns. Swiss meringue keeps its shape and holds a beautifully sharp edge and is a really fun mixture to experiment with.
The wreath pictured is like a pull-apart dessert centerpiece, with Amarena cherries on the stem. The cherries work well because they’re candied and don’t have a lot of moisture that will affect the baked meringue, and they won’t dry out at the low oven temperature used. You could also use freeze dried fruit or candied fruit, or use slivered dried apricots on the meringues above.
Lightly toast nuts to bring out their full flavor before putting on the meringues since they won’t toast at the low temperature used to bake them. Note that pistachios have to be toasted very lightly, or they lose their vibrant color.
RECIPE
Yields 25 small meringues and one 12” wreath
• 200g / about 6 egg whites
• 400g / 2 C sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla, optional
• Toppings: dried fruit and nuts, such as candied fruit; pistachios; slivered almonds; pine nuts; walnuts; cocoa nibs; freeze dried fruit; slices of dried fruit like apricots, pineapple, cherries, cranberries. Salted nuts are a delicious addition as well, whole or chopped.
To make the meringue, heat all the ingredients (except for toppings) over a hot water bath in a heatproof bowl to 160° or almost too hot to touch. Whisk constantly.
Transfer to mixer and whip on high in mixer with whisk attachment for 8 minutes; it will be smooth and glossy and very thick.
Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain or star tip. I used an Ateco open star tip 828 for the cookies and the wreath pictured. Pipe onto a parchment lined baking sheet pan, using some meringue to glue down the corners of the paper, or onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat.
Decorate the meringues with whatever toppings you like, gently pressing them on to adhere.
Bake at 185 with convection/200 no convection for about an hour if you want them still a little soft on the inside. If you want them crisp throughout, bake a half hour longer.
These keep for weeks in an airtight container at room temperature and in a dry environment. Not highly recommended for shipping. Meringues that are crisp throughout will keep best longer; if they are a little soft inside, they should be eaten sooner.