Failsafe Meringue
Summary
| Yield | |
|---|---|
| Source | Praise to my Mother. |
| Prep Time | 2 hours |
| Tags | family speciality |
Description
This meringue has never, ever gone wrong for me. That's not to say it can't...
Ingredients
- 6 oz caster sugar
- 1 t malt vinegar
- 1⁄4 t vanilla essence
- 1 t cornflour
- 3 large egg whites
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 150°C/300°F (you'll want the shelf in the centre).
Whisk the eggs (for your own benefit, use an electric whisk) until white-ish. Add the caster sugar and whisk slowly. Once mixed, add the other ingredients and continue to whisk until 'solid'. I was always told that solid meant that it remains in peaks when you remove the whisk. If it's peaking, you're good. I was also warned when given this recipe not to whisk too much, or 'it might go weird'.
Cover a baking tray in greaseproof paper and grease with oil. Spoon the mixture on in your desired shape. Bear in mind that not only will it take on it's own shape while cooking, it will also grow substantially, it is possible to influence the outcome though. I recommend going for height as much as width, otherwise it thins and can dry out a little while cooking.
The original recipe for this says to bake at the centre of the oven for 1 and a half hours. This is my mother's technique though, which seems to work wonders:
Cook in the centre for 1 hour. When it looks 'done-ish' (starting to look golden in appearance) turn off the oven. Leave the meringue in there, for as long as you want. I leave it until the oven is cold, normally an hour or so.
Notes
You can do pretty much anything with the finished result.
My favourite version of these when I was a kid was when my Mum made hand sized lumps of the stuff and stuck them together in pairs with cream and strawberries. I've only ever used it for pavlova, with cream, raspberries and crushed, toasted hazelnuts on the top. I know that it works for Lemon meringue pies too, although I've never tried making it.